Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil): Daqui a duas horas, a reunião terminará; espero que não seja chata. - In two hours, the meeting will end; I hope it is not boring.

Daqui a duas horas = two hours from now. It explicitly anchors the time to the present moment.
- Literally: daqui (from here, in time) a (to) duas horas (two hours).
Em duas horas can mean:
- in two hours (from now), in many contexts (often interchangeable with daqui a duas horas), or
- within two hours / taking two hours: Ele fez a prova em duas horas = “He did the test in two hours.”

In your sentence, Daqui a duas horas sounds very natural and clear: From now, in two hours, the meeting will finish.

Why is it daqui a duas horas and not daqui duas horas or daqui de duas horas?

Daqui a + time period is a fixed structure:

daqui a cinco minutos – in five minutes (from now)
daqui a duas horas – in two hours (from now)
daqui a uma semana – in a week (from now)

You need the preposition a here.
Daqui duas horas is considered incorrect, and daqui de duas horas doesn’t work either.

Think of daqui a as a chunk you memorize: daqui a + [amount of time].

Why is it a duas horas and not em duas horas after daqui?

Because daqui a is one expression. You don't substitute a with em in this pattern.

Daqui a duas horas ✅
Daqui em duas horas ❌

But em duas horas can appear without daqui in other sentences:

A reunião termina em duas horas. = The meeting ends in two hours.
Vou terminar o trabalho em duas horas. = I’ll finish the work in two hours / within two hours.

So:

With daqui, use a: daqui a X tempo.
On its own, em X tempo is fine and common.

Why is terminará used here instead of vai terminar?

Both are grammatically correct; the difference is style/register:

terminará = simple future (futuro do presente)
- Sounds more formal, bookish, or written.
- Common in written language, announcements, news, formal speech.
vai terminar = ir in the present + infinitive
- This is the most common future form in everyday Brazilian Portuguese.
- Sounds more natural and conversational.

So:

Written/formal: Daqui a duas horas, a reunião terminará.
Spoken/neutral: Daqui a duas horas, a reunião vai terminar.

Meaning-wise in this context, they’re the same.

Could I say A reunião terminará daqui a duas horas instead? Does the word order change the meaning?

You can say:

Daqui a duas horas, a reunião terminará.
A reunião terminará daqui a duas horas.

Both are correct and mean the same thing: The meeting will end two hours from now.

Placing Daqui a duas horas at the beginning just emphasizes the time more. This is similar to English:

In two hours, the meeting will end.
vs
The meeting will end in two hours.

Why do we use seja (subjunctive) after espero que, instead of é or vai ser?

Espero que (I hope that) triggers the subjunctive mood, because you’re expressing a wish/hope, not stating a fact.

Espero que não seja chata. = I hope it won’t be boring.
- seja is the present subjunctive of ser.
Espero que não é chata. ❌ (ungrammatical in Portuguese)
Espero que não vai ser chata. – Grammatically possible, but it sounds like a prediction, not really a hope. More like “I expect it won’t be boring.”

Compare:

Acho que não vai ser chata. = I think it won’t be boring. (statement/opinion → indicative: vai ser)
Espero que não seja chata. = I hope it won’t be boring. (wish/hope → subjunctive: seja)

So with espero que, use the subjunctive: espero que + [subjunctive].

Why is it não seja chata and not não seja chato?

Because chata agrees in gender with a reunião:

a reunião – feminine noun → use feminine adjective: chata
o filme – masculine noun → chato
a aula – feminine → chata

So:

A reunião é chata. / Espero que a reunião não seja chata.
O filme é chato. / Espero que o filme não seja chato.

Could I say espero que não esteja chata instead of não seja chata?

You can, but the nuance changes slightly.

não seja chata (subjunctive of ser)
- Talks about the general character of the meeting: that it (as an event) won’t be boring.
não esteja chata (subjunctive of estar)
- Suggests a temporary state: that the meeting won’t be in a boring phase/moment.

In practice, for a meeting that hasn’t happened yet, Brazilians overwhelmingly say:

Espero que não seja chata.

Esteja chata is more natural when something is already happening:

A reunião já começou, mas espero que não esteja chata.
= The meeting has already started, but I hope it isn’t boring (right now).

How strong or rude is the word chata here? Are there more formal options?

Chata is informal and very common in everyday speech. It’s not a swear word; it’s mild, like “boring / annoying / lame.”

More neutral or formal alternatives:

entediante – boring, tedious
maçante – tedious, dull (more formal)
cansativa – tiring, exhausting (mentally)

Examples:

Espero que a reunião não seja entediante.
Espero que a reunião não seja maçante.

In casual conversation, chata is perfectly natural.

Why is there a semicolon (;) and not just a comma or a period?

The semicolon connects two independent clauses that are closely related:

Daqui a duas horas, a reunião terminará;
espero que não seja chata.

You could also write:

Daqui a duas horas, a reunião terminará. Espero que não seja chata. (two sentences)
Daqui a duas horas, a reunião terminará, e espero que não seja chata. (with e = “and”)

All are grammatically correct. The semicolon here is a stylistic choice, often used in more careful or formal writing.

How do you pronounce reunião and terminará?

Approximate Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation:

reunião:
- Sounds like: “hay-oo-nyão”
- reu = “hay-oo” blended
- final ão = nasal sound, like the -own in English “down,” but nasal.
terminará:
- ter = “tehr” (like “teh” with a slight r at the end)
- mi = “mee”
- na = “nah”
- rá = “HAH” (stressed syllable, with a guttural r in many Brazilian accents)

Stress in terminará falls on the last syllable: -rá.

Could I say the whole sentence in a more colloquial way that Brazilians actually use in speech?

A very natural spoken version might be:

Daqui a duas horas, a reunião vai terminar; espero que não seja chata.
or even slightly looser:
Daqui a duas horas a reunião vai terminar. Tomara que não seja chata.

Notes:

vai terminar instead of terminará (more colloquial future)
Tomara que não seja chata. = “I really hope it isn’t boring.” (very common, informal)