Recebi uma chamada.

Recebi is the 1st person singular form of the verb receber in the pretérito perfeito (simple past / preterite).

So:

• receber = to receive
• eu recebi = I received

In this sentence, it expresses a completed action in the past: I received / I got.

Portuguese often omits the subject pronoun when the verb form already makes it clear who the subject is.

• Recebi already tells you it means I received
• So Eu recebi uma chamada is correct, but Recebi uma chamada is more natural in many contexts

Portuguese does this much more often than English.

It can match either received or got in English, depending on context.

• Recebi uma chamada = I received a call
• Very natural English translation: I got a call

So the Portuguese verb receber is often slightly more formal/literal than English get, but in translation it can still correspond to both.

Here uma means a.

• uma chamada = a call

Like in English, a/an and one can sometimes use the same word form, but context usually makes the meaning clear. In this sentence, the normal reading is simply a call, not emphasis on the number one.

Because Portuguese usually uses an article in places where English also uses one.

• uma chamada = a call

Saying just Recebi chamada would sound incomplete or unnatural in standard Portuguese for this meaning.

Here chamada means call, especially a phone call in many contexts.

However, chamada can have other meanings depending on context, such as:

• a callout / summons
• roll call / attendance call
• a title or headline in some contexts

In this sentence, though, learners will usually understand it as a call.

It is correct, but ligação is also very common in Brazil and is often even more natural for phone call.

For example:

• Recebi uma chamada.
• Recebi uma ligação.

Both can mean I got a call.

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, many speakers strongly associate ligação with a phone call, while chamada can feel a bit broader depending on context.

This is the normal Portuguese order:

• Verb + object
• Recebi
  • uma chamada

It matches the basic English idea I received a call, except that Portuguese often drops the subject pronoun eu.

You could also say:

• Eu recebi uma chamada

But the shorter version is very natural.

The dictionary form is also chamada in this case, because it is a noun.

It comes from the verb chamar (to call), but in the sentence it is not being used as a verb form. It is a noun meaning call.

So:

• chamar = to call
• chamada = call

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

• reh-seh-BEE OO-ma shah-MAH-da

A few helpful notes:

• recebi has stress on the last syllable: -bi
• ch in chamada sounds like English sh
• the lh sound does not appear here; chamada is simpler than words like filho
• in natural speech, uma may sound a bit reduced depending on the speaker

A more Brazil-oriented rough IPA-style guide would be close to:

• he.se.ˈbi ˈu.mɐ ʃa.ˈma.dɐ

You could use other tenses, but they would change the meaning.

• Recebi uma chamada. = I received / got a call.
  A completed event in the past.

Compare:

• Recebo chamadas. = I receive calls. / I get calls.
• Recebia chamadas. = I used to receive calls / I was receiving calls.
• Tenho recebido chamadas. = I have been receiving calls.

So recebi is the right form if you mean one completed call in the past.

In some contexts, yes. Portuguese pretérito perfeito often covers what English may express as either:

• I received a call
• I have received a call

But in many everyday situations, English prefers the simple past: I got a call.

Which English tense sounds best depends on context, but the Portuguese sentence itself is completely normal and clear.

It is mostly neutral.

• Recebi is standard and natural
• uma chamada is correct and understandable
• in casual Brazilian speech, many people might more often say Recebi uma ligação

So the sentence is not overly formal, but it is a bit more neutral or standard than the most casual everyday phrasing in some contexts.