Hoje eu vou fazer arroz com peixe para o jantar.

Hoje means today, and it is very common to put time expressions at the beginning of a Portuguese sentence.

So:

• Hoje eu vou fazer arroz com peixe para o jantar.
• literally: Today I am going to make rice with fish for dinner.

You could also say:

• Eu vou fazer arroz com peixe hoje para o jantar.

But starting with Hoje helps set the time right away and sounds very natural.

Often, yes, you can leave it out.

Portuguese usually allows subject pronouns to be omitted when the verb ending already shows who is doing the action. So:

• Hoje eu vou fazer arroz com peixe para o jantar.
• Hoje vou fazer arroz com peixe para o jantar.

Both are natural.

People may include eu for:

• emphasis
• clarity
• a more explicit style

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, both versions are common.

Vou fazer is the very common ir + infinitive future structure in Portuguese.

• vou = I go / I am going
• fazer = to make / to do

Together, vou fazer means I’m going to make.

This is one of the most common ways to talk about the future in Brazilian Portuguese, especially in conversation.

There is also a simple future form:

• farei arroz com peixe

But that sounds more formal or less conversational in many everyday situations. In speech, vou fazer is usually more natural.

Yes, fazer can mean to do, but it also often means to make.

In food contexts, fazer is commonly used for preparing a dish or meal:

• fazer arroz = to make rice
• fazer o jantar = to make dinner
• fazer um bolo = to make a cake

So in this sentence, fazer arroz com peixe means to make rice with fish.

In Portuguese, articles are often omitted when talking about food in a general way, especially in cooking contexts.

So:

• fazer arroz com peixe = make rice with fish

This sounds natural because the speaker is talking about the dish, not specific already-identified rice or fish.

You might see articles in other contexts, for example:

• o arroz = the rice
• o peixe = the fish

But here, without articles, it sounds like a general meal description.

Grammatically, com peixe means with fish.

In real use, it can suggest:

• rice prepared together with fish
• rice served alongside fish
• a meal consisting of rice and fish

Portuguese often leaves that kind of detail to context. The phrase is broad and natural.

If someone wanted to be more specific, they could say:

• arroz e peixe = rice and fish
• arroz com peixe frito = rice with fried fish
• arroz de peixe = fish rice / rice dish made with fish

So com peixe is flexible and natural, but not ultra-specific.

Para o jantar means for dinner.

It shows purpose:

• vou fazer arroz com peixe para o jantar
• I’m going to make rice with fish for dinner

Compare:

• para o jantar = for dinner
• no jantar = at dinner / during dinner
• à noite = at night / tonight

So:

• para o jantar answers for what meal?
• à noite answers when?

Example:

• Hoje à noite vou fazer arroz com peixe para o jantar. = Tonight I’m going to make rice with fish for dinner.

Both exist, but they mean slightly different things.

• para o jantar = for dinner
  Here jantar is a noun: the dinner meal.

• para jantar = to eat for dinner / for dinner time
  Here jantar behaves more like a verb idea: to dine / to have dinner.

In this sentence, para o jantar is the clearest and most standard way to say for dinner.

Examples:

• Comprei pão para o jantar. = I bought bread for dinner.
• Comprei pão para jantar. = I bought bread to eat for dinner.

Both can work, but para o jantar is very straightforward for learners.

Yes, somewhat.

The original order is very natural:

• Hoje eu vou fazer arroz com peixe para o jantar.

Other possible orders include:

• Eu vou fazer arroz com peixe para o jantar hoje.
• Hoje vou fazer arroz com peixe para o jantar.

But not every rearrangement sounds equally natural. Portuguese usually prefers keeping:

• the time expression in a natural place
• vou fazer together
• the food phrase together

So the original sentence is a very good, normal word order.

In Brazilian Portuguese:

• vou sounds roughly like voh with a slight w/u glide
• fazer is roughly fa-ZEHR

A simple learner-friendly approximation:

• vou fazer ≈ voh fa-ZEHR

A few pronunciation notes:

• The z in fazer sounds like the z in zero
• The final r in Brazilian Portuguese is often softer or more breathy than an English r, depending on region
• In natural speech, eu vou fazer may sound smoothly connected

Sometimes, yes, but the meaning shifts a little.

• fazer arroz com peixe = make/prep rice with fish
• cozinhar arroz com peixe = cook rice with fish

Cozinhar focuses more on the cooking process itself.
Fazer is broader and often sounds more natural when talking about preparing a meal.

For food, Brazilian Portuguese very often prefers fazer in everyday speech:

• Vou fazer almoço.
• Vou fazer arroz.
• Vou fazer um bolo.

So fazer is a great choice here.

Here, jantar is a noun meaning dinner.

That is why it appears in:

• para o jantar = for dinner

But jantar can also be a verb:

• Eu vou jantar. = I’m going to have dinner.

So Portuguese uses the same word in two ways:

• o jantar = the dinner meal
• jantar = to have dinner

In this sentence, the article o makes it clear that jantar is a noun.

Yes. It sounds natural, clear, and everyday.

A Brazilian might also say slightly simpler or more casual versions, such as:

• Hoje vou fazer arroz com peixe no jantar.
• Hoje vou fazer arroz e peixe para o jantar.
• Vou fazer arroz com peixe hoje à noite.

But your sentence is completely normal and idiomatic:

• Hoje eu vou fazer arroz com peixe para o jantar.