Ele escapou pela janela.

Escapou is the 3rd person singular of the verb escapar in the pretérito perfeito simples.

So it matches ele / ela / você and means something like:

• he escaped
• she escaped
• you escaped (formal você)

In this sentence, because the subject is ele, it means he escaped.

Base verb: escapar
Form here: ele escapou

Yes. In Portuguese, the subject pronoun is often omitted because the verb ending already shows the person.

So both of these are possible:

• Ele escapou pela janela.
• Escapou pela janela.

Including ele can:

• make the subject clearer
• add contrast or emphasis
• sound more natural if you are distinguishing him from someone else

For example:

• Ela ficou, mas ele escapou pela janela.
  She stayed, but he escaped through the window.

So ele is not always necessary, but it is perfectly normal.

Pela is the contraction of:

• por
  • a = pela

So literally, it is through/by/via the in this kind of sentence.

Here, pela janela means through the window or by way of the window.

Other common contractions with por are:

• por + o = pelo
• por + a = pela
• por + os = pelos
• por + as = pelas

Examples:

• pelo corredor = through the corridor
• pela porta = through the door

Both can be possible, but pela janela is usually the more natural, everyday choice here.

• escapar pela janela = to escape through the window
• entrar pela janela = to enter through the window
• sair pela janela = to go out through the window

Através de can also mean through, but it often sounds:

• a bit more literal
• a bit more formal
• sometimes more like across or through the medium of

So for physical movement through an opening, pela janela is very idiomatic.

Because Portuguese normally uses an article here when referring to a specific window.

• pela janela = through the window

Since pela already contains a, the article is built in.

If the window were not specific, you could say:

• por uma janela = through a window

So:

• pela janela = through the window
• por uma janela = through a window

They are similar, but not identical.

escapar

Focuses on successfully getting away or escaping.

• Ele escapou pela janela.
  He escaped through the window.

fugir

Focuses more on fleeing, running away, or escaping from something/someone.

• Ele fugiu pela janela.
  He fled through the window.

In many situations, both work, but the nuance can be slightly different:

• escapar = manage to get out / get away
• fugir = run away / flee

It can be used in different ways.

1. Without a direct object, as here

• Ele escapou pela janela.

Here pela janela tells you the route or means of escape.

2. With de to say what someone escaped from

• Ele escapou da prisão.
• Ela escapou do incêndio.

3. In other meanings

Escapar can also mean slip out, get away, or even be missed/overlooked, depending on context.

So in this sentence, it is simply being used as an intransitive verb with a phrase showing the path.

In European Portuguese, escapou is roughly pronounced like:

• esh-kah-POH

A more technical approximation is:

• [ɨʃkɐˈpow]

A few useful points:

• the es- at the beginning often sounds like esh-
• the stress is on the last syllable: -pou
• ou in standard Portuguese is usually a closed o sound, not an English ow

So the whole sentence in European Portuguese is roughly:

• El(e) esh-kah-POH peh-lah zhah-NEH-lah

But remember: unstressed vowels are often reduced in European Portuguese, so native speech may sound more compressed than the spelling suggests.

Yes, but the original order is the most neutral:

• Ele escapou pela janela.

You could also say:

• Pela janela, ele escapou.

That version puts more emphasis on pela janela.

And since Portuguese often drops subject pronouns, you may also hear:

• Escapou pela janela.

So the sentence order can change for emphasis, but Ele escapou pela janela is the straightforward default.

In this sentence, it is understood literally: a physical window.

However, janela can have other meanings in Portuguese in different contexts, such as:

• a computer window
• a window of time / opportunity in some expressions

But with escapou pela janela, the most natural reading is definitely a real window in a wall or building.