Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Estou cansado, ainda assim vou estudar para o exame. - I am tired, yet I am still going to study for the exam.

estar = temporary states, conditions, feelings
- Estou cansado. = I’m (feeling) tired right now.
ser = permanent or defining characteristics
- Sou cansado. would sound like I’m a tiring person or I’m (by nature) someone who is always tired.

So for being tired at the moment, you almost always use estar: Estou cansado.

If a woman is speaking, does the sentence change?

Yes. The adjective agrees in gender with the speaker:

Man: Estou cansado, ainda assim vou estudar para o exame.
Woman: Estou cansada, ainda assim vou estudar para o exame.

Only cansado/cansada changes; the rest of the sentence stays the same.

What exactly does ainda assim mean? Is it just ainda (“still”)?

ainda assim is an expression meaning roughly “even so” / “nevertheless” / “in spite of that.”

ainda by itself is usually “still” / “yet”:
- Ainda estou cansado. = I’m still tired.
assim means “like this / like that / this way.”

Together, ainda assim is idiomatic. You don’t normally translate it literally; you understand it as a contrastive connector:

Estou cansado, ainda assim vou estudar…
I’m tired; even so / nevertheless, I’m going to study…

Is there a difference between ainda assim and mesmo assim?

They are very close in meaning and often interchangeable:

ainda assim ≈ mesmo assim ≈ even so, nevertheless, despite that.

Nuances (especially in European Portuguese, which you’re learning):

ainda assim
- Slightly more formal or neutral; common in writing and careful speech.
mesmo assim
- Very common in everyday speech; feels a bit more colloquial/“natural” in conversation.

Your sentence would sound perfectly natural as:

Estou cansado, mesmo assim vou estudar para o exame.

Can ainda assim go at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. This is very natural and maybe even more common:

Ainda assim, vou estudar para o exame.
Even so, I’m going to study for the exam.

So both are correct:

Estou cansado, ainda assim vou estudar para o exame.
Estou cansado. Ainda assim, vou estudar para o exame.

When ainda assim starts the sentence, it’s usual to follow it with a comma.

Do I need the comma before ainda assim?

In your version, yes, it’s standard and recommended:

Estou cansado, ainda assim vou estudar para o exame.

Here’s why:

There is a pause in speech before ainda assim.
ainda assim works like a sentence adverb (similar to however, even so in English), and Portuguese usually separates that with a comma.

You could also use a full stop:

Estou cansado. Ainda assim, vou estudar para o exame.

Using no comma at all (Estou cansado ainda assim vou…) is not good written style and feels wrong to native speakers.

Can I add mas (“but”) as well, or is that redundant?

You can add mas, and it’s natural:

Estou cansado, mas ainda assim vou estudar para o exame.
Estou cansado, mas mesmo assim vou estudar para o exame.

Here mas = but and ainda assim/mesmo assim = even so, so there is a bit of redundancy in meaning, but it’s completely normal in Portuguese, especially in speech. It adds emphasis to the contrast.

Why is it vou estudar and not estudarei (simple future)?

Portuguese has two common ways to express the future:

ir + infinitive (very frequent in speech)
- vou estudar = I’m going to study / I will study
- This is what you have in the sentence: vou estudar.
simple future
- estudarei = I will study
- In European Portuguese, this form is more formal or written and is much less common in everyday conversation.

So:

Vou estudar para o exame. ✅ very natural in speech.
Estudarei para o exame. ✅ grammatically correct, but sounds formal or bookish in most spoken contexts.

Since vou literally means “I go”, is vou estudar like English “I’m going to study (somewhere)”?

In this construction, ir + infinitive is a future tense, not a movement verb:

Vou estudar para o exame.
= I’m going to study for the exam / I will study for the exam.

It does not necessarily mean physical movement (going somewhere to study). It’s about intention / planned future action, just like English “I’m going to study” as a future, not “I’m going to the library to study”.

If you want to emphasize movement, you add a place:

Vou à biblioteca estudar para o exame.
= I’m going to the library to study for the exam.

Why is it para o exame and not something like por o exame or para exame?

Two issues here: the preposition and the article.

Preposition: para
- para expresses purpose/goal:
  - Estudar para o exame. = to study for the exam (in order to do well on it).
- por (o) → pelo usually means cause, agent, movement through, etc., and would not be used here for “study for an exam”.
Article: o
- Portuguese uses definite articles more often than English.
- para o exame = for the exam (a specific exam that both speakers know about).
- para exame without an article is also possible but feels more generic, like “for exams (in general)” or in very telegraphic style (e.g. note headings, some ads).

So in normal speech about a specific exam, para o exame is the default, idiomatic choice.

Are there other common ways to express the same idea in Portuguese from Portugal?

Yes, several natural alternatives (all European Portuguese):

Using mesmo assim:
- Estou cansado, mesmo assim vou estudar para o exame.
Using a concession clause (although, even though):
- Apesar de estar cansado, vou estudar para o exame.
- Embora esteja cansado, vou estudar para o exame. (more formal because of the subjunctive esteja)
Using a fronted adjective phrase:
- Mesmo cansado, vou estudar para o exame.
  = Even (though I’m) tired, I’m going to study for the exam.

All of these are common and correct in European Portuguese, with slightly different formality levels but the same basic meaning.