Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Num país livre, é importante termos respeito por pessoas diferentes de nós. - In a free country, it is important that we have respect for people who are different from us.

num is what you will hear and see most often in normal speech and writing.
em um sounds a bit heavier and is more likely in very formal or careful writing, but is not wrong.

For feminine nouns, you get numa (em + uma):

numa cidade grande = em uma cidade grande = in a big city

Why is there a comma after Num país livre?

Portuguese generally uses a comma after an introductory phrase that sets the scene for the main clause, especially when it comes at the beginning of the sentence.

Introductory phrase: Num país livre
Main clause: é importante termos respeito por pessoas diferentes de nós.

The comma marks a small pause and separates the context (in a free country) from what is being said about that context (it is important that we have respect...).

In English you might or might not write that comma, but in Portuguese it is expected here.

Why do we say é importante termos respeito and not just é importante ter respeito?

Both are possible, but they are not quite the same:

É importante termos respeito por pessoas diferentes de nós.
- termos is a personal infinitive (1st person plural, “we”).
- The subject nós is built into termos.
- Meaning nuance: it highlights that we specifically must have respect.
É importante ter respeito por pessoas diferentes de nós.
- ter is an impersonal infinitive.
- No specific subject is marked; it’s a more general statement.
- Meaning nuance: it’s important, in general, to have respect (not focusing so much on “we”).

Both are grammatically correct. In this sentence, using termos makes the link with nós (present in de nós) tighter: we, ourselves, must have this respect.

What exactly is termos? It looks like an infinitive, but with a plural ending.

Termos is the personal infinitive of ter, in the 1st person plural (“we”).

Infinitive of ter in the personal forms:

ter – (no subject marked, or general)
eu – ter
tu – teres
ele / ela / você – ter
nós – termos
eles / elas / vocês – terem

Portuguese is unusual because it allows you to attach person and number endings to the infinitive. This is very common after prepositions and impersonal expressions like:

É importante termos cuidado. – It is important that we are careful.
Antes de sairmos, vamos arrumar. – Before we leave, let’s tidy up.

In Brazil, the personal infinitive also exists but is used somewhat less in everyday speech than in Portugal; in European Portuguese it’s very natural and frequent.

Could we also say É importante que tenhamos respeito por pessoas diferentes de nós? Is that different from é importante termos respeito?

Yes, you can say:

É importante que tenhamos respeito por pessoas diferentes de nós.

This uses the present subjunctive (tenhamos) instead of the personal infinitive (termos).

Rough comparison:

É importante termos respeito...
- Personal infinitive.
- Very natural, slightly less formal in tone.
- Common in both speech and writing.
É importante que tenhamos respeito...
- Subjunctive with que.
- A bit more formal / explicit, and slightly more emphatic.
- Typical in written, careful language (essays, speeches, formal statements).

In meaning, they are practically equivalent: It is important that we have respect for people different from us.

Why is É importante que temos respeito wrong or unnatural?

After impersonal expressions that express importance, necessity, desire, etc., standard Portuguese requires the subjunctive, not the indicative.

So with é importante que... you must follow with tenhamos, not temos:

✔ É importante que tenhamos respeito por pessoas diferentes de nós.
✘ É importante que temos respeito por pessoas diferentes de nós.

Using temos sounds ungrammatical or at least non‑standard to native speakers. The same pattern appears with similar expressions:

É necessário que façamos isto. (not fazemos)
É melhor que vás. (not vais)

Why do we use respeito por here? Could we say respeito a or respeito para?

With the noun respeito in the sense of “respect (for someone)”, the usual construction in contemporary European Portuguese is:

ter respeito por alguém / por algo

Examples:

Ter respeito por pessoas mais velhas. – To have respect for older people.
Não têm respeito por ninguém. – They have no respect for anyone.

Other options:

ter respeito para com alguém – very formal or old‑fashioned; used in legal or very formal texts.
respeito a – used mostly in set phrases like no que diz respeito a (“with regard to, as far as … is concerned”), not in this “respect for people” sense.
respeito para on its own sounds wrong here.

So in this sentence, respeito por pessoas diferentes de nós is the normal, idiomatic choice.

What is the difference between ter respeito por pessoas diferentes de nós and respeitar pessoas diferentes de nós?

Both express a similar idea, but from slightly different angles:

ter respeito por pessoas diferentes de nós
- Literally “to have respect for people different from us”.
- Uses the noun respeito.
- Emphasises an internal attitude or stance of respect.
respeitar pessoas diferentes de nós
- Uses the verb respeitar directly: “to respect people different from us”.
- More active/verb‑like; can sound a bit more direct or concrete.

In most contexts you could rewrite the sentence:

Num país livre, é importante respeitar pessoas diferentes de nós.

It is still correct and natural, just a slightly different style. The original with ter respeito por sounds a bit more reflective or abstract.

In pessoas diferentes de nós, why do we use de nós and not do que nós?

The adjective diferente in Portuguese normally takes de, not do que, when followed by a noun or a pronoun:

diferente de mim / de ti / de nós / de vocês / deles
diferente de Lisboa
diferente de outros países

So pessoas diferentes de nós is the regular pattern: people different from us.

You can use diferente do que when you are comparing with a whole clause or statement:

Isto é diferente do que pensávamos. – This is different from what we thought.
O resultado foi diferente do que esperávamos.

With just a pronoun, de nós is the natural, standard form. diferentes do que nós is not idiomatic here.

Could we just say pessoas diferentes and leave out de nós?

Yes, grammatically that is fine:

Num país livre, é importante termos respeito por pessoas diferentes.

The difference is in precision:

pessoas diferentes de nós – makes the comparison explicit: people who are different from us.
pessoas diferentes – just “different people”; different in some way, but not clearly from whom or from what.

In this context, de nós underlines the idea of other people who are not like us, which is important to the meaning.

Why is livre after país and not before it?

In Portuguese, most descriptive adjectives usually come after the noun:

um país livre – literally “a country free”
uma casa pequena – a small house
um carro novo – a new car

Putting livre before país (um livre país) would sound poetic, old‑fashioned, or just strange in everyday language. Some adjectives can move before the noun with a change in nuance (e.g. um grande homem vs um homem grande), but um livre país is not a normal modern expression.

So Num país livre follows the standard noun + adjective order.

Is there any difference between por pessoas diferentes de nós and pelas pessoas diferentes de nós?

Yes, there is a small nuance.

por pessoas diferentes de nós
- por without an article.
- Refers to people of that type in a more general, indefinite way.
- Roughly: for people who are different from us (in general).
pelas pessoas diferentes de nós = por + as pessoas…
- Now there is the definite article as (“the”).
- Sounds more like “for the people who are different from us”, referring to that whole group as something more definite or already known.

Both are grammatically correct. In this kind of general moral statement (“in a free country, it’s important…”), leaving out the article (por pessoas diferentes de nós) is slightly more natural, because we mean people of that kind in general, not some specific, defined group.

How would this sentence sound in more informal everyday Portuguese in Portugal?

The original sentence is already quite natural and neutral, but you might hear slightly simpler versions such as:

Num país livre, é importante respeitar pessoas diferentes de nós.
Num país livre, é importante respeitar quem é diferente de nós.
Num país livre, é importante ter respeito por quem é diferente de nós.

These keep the same idea but use more direct structures (respeitar, quem é diferente de nós), which are very common in speech.

Any quick pronunciation tips for this sentence in European Portuguese?

Key points for European Portuguese:

Num – nasal vowel, roughly like “noong” without pronouncing a final g.
país – stress on -ís: pa‑ÍS.
livre – final e is reduced, sounds like LIV-rə.
termos – ter with a soft, almost silent final r; sounds like TEHR-mush (with the typical European Portuguese -os ending).
respeito – starts with a sound close to rsh-: rsh-PEI-tu.
por – often very light; the final r is usually not strongly pronounced.
pessoas – pronounced roughly ps-Ô-ash; the initial pe is very weak, almost ps-.
diferentes – final -es reduced: dife-RENT-sh.
de nós – de usually reduced to d’, very short: d’NÓSH.

Spoken naturally, many syllables are reduced, and words connect fluidly, so the whole sentence will sound more compact than its written form might suggest.