Minha prima disse que a torrada com geleia de morango estava melhor do que o bolo.

Because prima is a feminine noun in Portuguese.

• meu = my for a masculine singular noun
• minha = my for a feminine singular noun

So:

• meu primo = my male cousin
• minha prima = my female cousin

The possessive has to agree with the noun being possessed, not with the speaker.

Yes. Portuguese usually distinguishes male and female cousins:

• primo = male cousin
• prima = female cousin

English uses just cousin, so this is something English speakers often notice right away.

Disse is the preterite form of dizer (to say / to tell).

• eu disse = I said
• ela disse = she said

In this sentence, Minha prima disse... means My cousin said...

The preterite is used because this is a completed action in the past: she said it at some specific point.

Here que means that and introduces a subordinate clause.

• Minha prima disse que... = My cousin said that...

In English, that is often optional:

• My cousin said that...
• My cousin said...

In Portuguese, que is normally kept in this structure.

Yes, torrada means toast.

The article a is the feminine singular definite article, meaning the.

• a torrada = the toast

Portuguese uses articles very naturally and often more regularly than English does, so seeing a here is normal.

This is the normal Portuguese way to say strawberry jam/jelly.

• geleia = jam / jelly
• de morango = of strawberry / strawberry

So literally it is jam of strawberry, but in natural English we say strawberry jam.

This de structure is very common in Portuguese for flavors, ingredients, and types:

• suco de laranja = orange juice
• bolo de chocolate = chocolate cake
• sorvete de baunilha = vanilla ice cream

In current standard spelling, the correct form is geleia.

Older spelling used geléia, but after spelling reforms, the accent was removed.

In Brazil, geleia is a normal word for jam/jelly.

Because estar is often used for a state or condition, and here the speaker is evaluating how the toast was at that moment.

• estava melhor = was better

Using estar suggests a temporary or situational quality:

• at that meal
• on that occasion
• in that comparison

If you said era melhor, it could sound more like a general characteristic or a broader judgment, depending on context.

So estava melhor fits very naturally for was better in a specific situation.

Estava is the imperfect form of estar.

The imperfect is often used:

• for background description in the past
• for ongoing states
• for situations without emphasis on a precise beginning or end

Here, the sentence reports what something was like when the cousin said it:

• a torrada... estava melhor = the toast was better

If you used esteve, it would sound more like a bounded, completed event, which is less natural for this kind of comparison.

Because melhor is the irregular comparative form of bom.

• bom = good
• melhor = better

So:

• mais bom is not standard
• melhor is the correct form

Just like in English:

• good → better not more good

This is a comparative structure:

• melhor do que = better than

So:

• A torrada estava melhor do que o bolo = The toast was better than the cake

You may also hear melhor que in everyday Portuguese, especially in speech. Both are common, but melhor do que is very standard and clear.

Because bolo is being presented as a specific thing: the cake.

• o bolo = the cake

Portuguese often uses articles where English also does, but sometimes even where English might omit them in other contexts. Here, o bolo is simply the normal way to say the cake.

If you said just bolo, it would sound less complete in this sentence.

Because the subject is already stated:

• a torrada com geleia de morango

So Portuguese does not need an extra subject pronoun like ela.

The structure is:

• Minha prima disse que [a torrada com geleia de morango] estava melhor...

Portuguese often avoids repeating subject pronouns when the subject is already clear.

Often, yes, depending on the structure.

Dizer can correspond to to say or to tell, but the pattern matters.

Examples:

• Ela disse que vinha. = She said that she was coming.
• Ela me disse a verdade. = She told me the truth.

In your sentence, disse que... is the very common structure for said that...

Yes, this word order is completely natural.

• Minha prima disse que a torrada com geleia de morango estava melhor do que o bolo.

It starts with the speaker/source of the statement, then the content of what was said.

You could rearrange parts of the sentence in other contexts, but this version is straightforward and idiomatic. Portuguese generally keeps this kind of order in neutral statements.

A few parts may be hard for English speakers:

• minha: the nh sounds like the ny in canyon
• torrada: the rr in Brazilian Portuguese is usually a throaty h-like sound
• geleia: sounds roughly like zhe-LEI-a in Brazilian Portuguese
• melhor: the lh sounds like the lli in million for many learners, though not exactly the same
• morango: stress on ra → mo-RAN-go

A simple approximate pronunciation of the whole sentence in Brazilian Portuguese is:

MEEN-ya PREE-ma JEE-see kee a to-HA-da kong zhe-LEI-a djee mo-RAN-go es-TA-va me-LYOR doo kee oo BO-lo

That is only an approximation, but it can help you get started.

Normally, no.

In English, we often say:

• My cousin said the toast was better than the cake.

In Portuguese, after disse, you normally keep que:

• Minha prima disse que...

Leaving it out would sound unnatural in standard Portuguese.

Because it describes the toast: toast with strawberry jam.

The phrase com geleia de morango works like a modifier attached to a torrada.

So the structure is:

• a torrada = the toast
• com geleia de morango = with strawberry jam

Together:

• a torrada com geleia de morango = the toast with strawberry jam

This placement is normal and clear in Portuguese.