Reduzimos a velocidade.

Reduzimos is the 1st person plural form of reduzir, so it means we reduce or we reduced, depending on context.

The ending -mos is a very common clue that the subject is we.

Examples:

• reduzo = I reduce
• reduzes = you reduce
• reduz = he/she/it reduces
• reduzimos = we reduce / we reduced
• reduzem = they reduce

Because Portuguese often drops subject pronouns, you do not need nós here. The verb already shows who is doing the action.

In Portuguese, some verb forms are spelled the same in the present and the preterite for we.

So reduzimos can mean:

• we reduce / we are reducing in the right context
• we reduced

Usually, context makes it clear.

For example:

• Todos os dias reduzimos a velocidade naquela curva. = We reduce our speed at that bend every day.
• Ontem reduzimos a velocidade por causa do nevoeiro. = Yesterday we reduced the speed because of the fog.

This is normal and very common in Portuguese.

The infinitive is reduzir, meaning to reduce.

It is an -ir verb.

A few useful forms are:

• reduzir = to reduce
• reduzimos = we reduce / we reduced
• reduziu = he/she/it reduced
• reduzindo = reducing
• reduzido = reduced

Portuguese uses definite articles much more often than English.

So a velocidade literally means the speed, but in natural English the translation may simply be speed or our speed, depending on context.

In Portuguese, this is very normal:

• Fechei a porta. = I closed the door.
• Lavei as mãos. = I washed my hands.
• Reduzimos a velocidade. = We reduced the speed / We slowed down.

Even when English would use our, Portuguese often just uses the.

It can, but it is usually unnecessary unless you want to emphasize whose speed it is.

Portuguese often prefers the simpler structure:

• Reduzimos a velocidade.

If you say:

• Reduzimos a nossa velocidade,

it sounds more explicit or emphatic, but often less natural in ordinary speech unless there is a contrast.

For example:

• Eles não reduziram a velocidade, mas nós reduzimos a nossa velocidade.

So in everyday Portuguese, a velocidade is the more natural choice.

Yes. Very often that is the most natural English translation.

Literally, Reduzimos a velocidade is We reduced the speed, but in normal English you would often say:

• We slowed down.

Portuguese often uses a more literal structure where English prefers a phrasal verb or a simpler expression.

In European Portuguese, it is approximately:

ruh-doo-ZEE-moosh ah vuh-luh-see-DAHD

A few important pronunciation points:

• r at the start of reduzimos is a guttural Portuguese r
• the z in reduzimos sounds like z
• the final -s in reduzimos sounds like sh in European Portuguese when followed by a vowel or in many normal speech contexts
• velocidade has stress on the last syllable: -DADE

A rougher European Portuguese-style approximation is: rdu-ZI-mush a vlusi-DAD

European Portuguese often reduces unstressed vowels a lot, so words can sound more compressed than in writing.

The normal order here is:

verb + object
Reduzimos a velocidade.

This is the most neutral and natural order.

You could change the order in special contexts, but it would usually sound marked or poetic:

• A velocidade, reduzimos.

That is not the normal everyday way to say it.

So for ordinary speech, keep:

• Reduzimos a velocidade.

Yes. Diminuímos a velocidade is also possible and natural.

Both reduzir and diminuir can mean to reduce / to decrease.

Very roughly:

• reduzir often sounds a bit more like reduce
• diminuir often sounds a bit more like decrease / make smaller / lessen

In many situations, both work:

• Reduzimos a velocidade.
• Diminuímos a velocidade.

In traffic contexts, both are understandable and natural.

Yes, depending on the context.

Abrandar means to slow down or to become slower. In driving contexts, it is very common.

So these can all be natural:

• Reduzimos a velocidade.
• Abrandámos.

The difference is:

• Reduzimos a velocidade focuses on reducing the speed
• Abrandámos focuses more directly on slowing down

In English, both might simply become We slowed down.

Portuguese is a language that often omits subject pronouns when the verb form already makes the subject clear.

Since reduzimos already tells you the subject is we, nós is not necessary.

So:

• Reduzimos a velocidade. = normal
• Nós reduzimos a velocidade. = also correct, but more emphatic

You might include nós if you want contrast:

• Eles aceleraram, mas nós reduzimos a velocidade.

Just put não before the verb:

• Não reduzimos a velocidade.

That means:

• We do not reduce the speed
• We did not reduce the speed

Again, context tells you whether it is present or past.

Examples:

• Normalmente não reduzimos a velocidade aqui. = We normally do not reduce speed here.
• Ontem não reduzimos a velocidade a tempo. = Yesterday we did not reduce speed in time.

In Portuguese, the easiest way is often just to use intonation:

• Reduzimos a velocidade?

That can mean:

• Are we reducing the speed?
• Did we reduce the speed?

If needed, context makes it clear.

You can also make the question clearer with extra words:

• Nós reduzimos a velocidade?
• Reduzimos a velocidade a tempo?

Unlike English, Portuguese usually does not need an auxiliary verb like do.

The direct object pronoun for a velocidade is a, because velocidade is feminine singular.

So:

• Reduzimos a velocidade.
• Reduzimo-la.

This form is correct, but it is more formal or written-sounding. In everyday speech, people often prefer to keep the full noun:

• Reduzimos a velocidade.

Still, it is useful to recognize -la attached to the verb.

Yes. Velocidade is a feminine noun, so it takes:

• a velocidade
• esta velocidade
• muita velocidade

That is why the article is a, not o.

It is especially natural in contexts involving:

• driving
• machines
• movement
• technical descriptions
• instructions or reports

For example:

• Ao entrar na cidade, reduzimos a velocidade.
• Quando vimos o acidente, reduzimos a velocidade.

In everyday English, this often becomes we slowed down, but the Portuguese structure with reduzir a velocidade is very common and natural.