Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Quando o Pedro viveu no estrangeiro, aprendeu a respeitar ainda mais a sua própria cultura. - When Pedro lived abroad, he learned to respect his own culture even more.

sounds completely normal and neutral in European Portuguese, both in speech and writing.
often appears in everyday conversation and in narratives, just like in your sentence.

In Brazilian Portuguese, using the article with a name is less common and can sound regional or marked, depending on the area.

You can say Pedro without o, especially in more formal or written contexts, but in European Portuguese:

Quando o Pedro viveu no estrangeiro… = most natural in everyday language
Quando Pedro viveu no estrangeiro… = also correct, a bit more “written” or neutral-formal in tone

Could we just say Quando viveu no estrangeiro… and leave out o Pedro?

Yes, grammatically that’s fine, but it slightly changes the feel:

Quando o Pedro viveu no estrangeiro…
– Explicitly names Pedro; good when you’re introducing him or have several possible “he”s.
Quando viveu no estrangeiro…
– Subject is understood from context (it’s clear you’re talking about him from earlier sentences).
– Sounds more like “When he lived abroad…” after you’ve already mentioned him.

Portuguese often drops subject pronouns (ele, ela), and once the person is clear in context, the name can also be omitted.

Why is it viveu and not vivia? What’s the difference?

Both are past tense, but they express different kinds of past:

viveu = pretérito perfeito (simple past, completed action)
→ A finished period:
Quando o Pedro viveu no estrangeiro…
= “When Pedro lived abroad (for a certain, completed time)…”
vivia = pretérito imperfeito (imperfect, ongoing/habitual past)
→ Background, ongoing situation or habit in the past:
Quando o Pedro vivia no estrangeiro, sentia muita saudade.
= “When Pedro was living abroad / used to live abroad, he felt very homesick.”

In your sentence, viveu suggests that his time abroad is seen as a completed chapter of his life. That fits well with the idea that during that period he learned something.

Why is quando used here instead of something like enquanto?

Both exist, but they’re not the same:

quando = “when” → marks a time frame or event
Quando o Pedro viveu no estrangeiro, aprendeu…
= “When Pedro lived abroad, he learned…”
enquanto = “while” → emphasizes simultaneity
Enquanto o Pedro vivia no estrangeiro, telefonava aos pais todos os dias.
= “While Pedro was living abroad, he called his parents every day.”

In your sentence, quando presents his time abroad as a period in which something happened (he learned to respect his own culture more). Enquanto would sound more like two processes happening in parallel and is more natural with vivia than with viveu.

What exactly does no estrangeiro mean, and why no instead of just em estrangeiro?

No estrangeiro is a contraction:

em (in) + o (the) → no
no estrangeiro = “abroad / in a foreign country / in foreign countries”

Estrangeiro here is a noun meaning “foreign country/abroad”, not an adjective:

um país estrangeiro = “a foreign country” (adjective)
o estrangeiro = “(the) abroad / foreign countries in general” (noun)

You cannot say em estrangeiro here. You need the article because you’re using estrangeiro as a noun:

✅ no estrangeiro
❌ em estrangeiro (unnatural / wrong in this meaning)

Could estrangeiro also mean “foreigner”? How do I know the difference?

Yes, estrangeiro can be:

Adjective: “foreign”
- um carro estrangeiro = a foreign car
Noun, masculine: “foreigner” (a person)
- um estrangeiro = a foreigner (male)
- uma estrangeira = a foreigner (female)
Noun, masculine, singular with article: “abroad”
- o estrangeiro = “abroad / foreign countries”

You tell from context and from the article:

o estrangeiro (singular, used like a place) → “abroad”
um estrangeiro (indefinite person) → “a foreigner”

Why is it aprendeu a respeitar and not just aprendeu respeitar?

In Portuguese, many verbs that are followed by another verb in the infinitive require a preposition. Aprender normally takes a:

aprender a fazer = to learn to do
aprender a falar português = to learn to speak Portuguese
aprendeu a respeitar = he learned to respect

So the general pattern is:

aprender a + infinitive

If you drop the a (aprendeu respeitar), it sounds wrong or very unnatural to native speakers.

What does ainda mais add here? Is it the same as just mais?

mais = “more”
ainda mais = “even more / still more”

So:

aprendeu a respeitar mais a sua própria cultura
= “he learned to respect his own culture more”
aprendeu a respeitar ainda mais a sua própria cultura
= “he learned to respect his own culture even more”
(stronger emphasis: he already respected it, but that respect increased further)

Ainda adds the idea of increase on top of something that already existed.

Can ainda mais go in a different place in the sentence?

Yes, there is some flexibility, but not every position sounds equally natural.

Most natural options here:

aprendeu a respeitar ainda mais a sua própria cultura ✅
aprendeu ainda mais a respeitar a sua própria cultura ✅ (also fine, a bit different focus)

Less natural or more marked:

aprendeu a ainda mais respeitar a sua própria cultura ❌ (awkward)
ainda mais aprendeu a respeitar a sua própria cultura (possible, but sounds very stylized/emphatic)

General guideline: keep ainda mais close to what it’s qualifying (respeitar / the degree of respect), and don’t split a from respeitar.

Why do we have a sua própria cultura instead of just sua própria cultura? What does the a do?

In European Portuguese, possessives almost always appear with a definite article:

o meu livro = my book
a tua casa = your house
a sua cultura = his/her/your culture

So:

a sua própria cultura
= “his own culture” (with normal, natural EP structure)

You can find cases without the article (sua própria cultura), but in European Portuguese that tends to sound:

more formal/literary, or
influenced by Brazilian Portuguese patterns.

In everyday European Portuguese, the version with the article is the default.

Does sua here mean “his”, “her”, or “your”? Isn’t that ambiguous?

Yes, sua is ambiguous in isolation: it can mean his, her, its, their, or your (formal), depending on context.

In your sentence:

Quando o Pedro viveu no estrangeiro, aprendeu a respeitar ainda mais a sua própria cultura.

Because Pedro is the person mentioned, the natural interpretation is:

a sua própria cultura = “his own culture” (Pedro’s culture)

If you wanted to remove any possibility of confusion, you could say:

a própria cultura dele = his own culture (of him, Pedro)
a própria cultura dela = her own culture
a sua própria cultura (to someone formally) = your own culture (formal “you”)

What does própria add to sua cultura? Could we leave it out?

a sua cultura = “his culture / his own culture” (context often implies “his own” already)
a sua própria cultura = explicitly “his own culture”, with extra emphasis on “not someone else’s”.

Própria is used to stress ownership or contrast:

Ele criticava a cultura dos outros, mas não conhecia bem a sua própria cultura.
= “He criticized other people’s culture but did not know his own culture well.”

You can leave it out (a sua cultura) and the sentence is still correct; you simply lose that extra emphasis on “own”.