Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Tudo há de ficar bem depois do exame. - Everything will turn out fine after the exam.

Há de + infinitive is a set expression meaning roughly “is bound to / is sure to / will certainly.”
So Tudo há de ficar bem is like saying “Everything is bound to turn out fine.”
It’s a bit more emotional or reassuring than a plain future, and it often carries a nuance of hope, confidence, or destiny rather than just a neutral statement about the future.

How is há de ficar different from vai ficar or ficará?

All three can translate as “will become / will be / will turn out.” The differences are nuance and register:

Vai ficar bem – very common, everyday spoken future (“is going to be fine”).
Ficará bem – simple future; tends to sound more written, formal or emphatic in modern Portuguese.
Há de ficar bem – sounds a bit more emotional/hopeful or philosophical, like “it’s sure to be fine / it’s bound to be fine.”

In normal conversation in Portugal, you hear vai ficar more often, but há de ficar is still absolutely used.

Why is it há de and not some other form of haver like hei de or hão de?

Haver de is conjugated normally, but you must match it to the logical subject:

Eu hei de ficar bem. – I am bound to be fine.
Eles hão de ficar bem. – They are bound to be fine.

In Tudo há de ficar bem, the thing that “is bound to” become fine is tudo (everything).
However, when haver de is used with a non‑personal subject like tudo, Portuguese often defaults to the 3rd person singular form (há de) as a kind of impersonal auxiliary. So há de here works like an impersonal “will (certainly)” attached to the whole idea.

Is há de old-fashioned or very formal in European Portuguese?

It sounds a bit literary or “saying-like”, but it is not obsolete in Portugal.
You might hear it in:

reassuring phrases: Vai correr bem, tudo há de ficar bem.
proverbs / fixed expressions: Água mole em pedra dura, tanto bate até que fura – há de furar.

In very casual speech, people more often say vai ficar bem, but há de ficar bem is still perfectly natural, especially when you want to sound reassuring, hopeful, or slightly dramatic.

Does ficar here mean “to stay” or “to become”? Why not just use ser?

Ficar is very flexible. Here it means “to end up / to turn out / to become.”
So ficar bem is closer to “end up fine / become fine / turn out fine”, rather than “stay fine.”

Using ser would not be idiomatic here:

Tudo há de ser bem – incorrect.
Tudo há de ficar bem – natural.

In this context you’re talking about a change of state after the exam, which is exactly where ficar is used.

Why is it bem and not bom in ficar bem?

Bom / boa / bons / boas = adjective (“good”).
Bem = adverb (“well”), also used in set expressions.

With ficar, both are possible but mean different things:

ficar bom – to become good (in quality), get better (health), taste good, etc.
ficar bem – to end up well / OK, or to suit (clothes, colours, decisions).

In Tudo há de ficar bem, the idea is “Everything will turn out well / OK.” So bem (adverb) is the natural choice.

What is the difference between tudo and todo here? Could I say Todo há de ficar bem?

You cannot say Todo há de ficar bem here; that’s ungrammatical.

Tudo = “everything” (pronoun, stands alone: tudo).
Todo = “all / every”, but must come with a noun:
- todo o exame – the whole exam
- toda a gente – everybody
- todos os problemas – all the problems

In your sentence, tudo is used as a pronoun: “everything” in general. That’s why it must be Tudo há de ficar bem.

Why is it depois do exame and not depois de exame?

Depois de literally means “after of.”
When it comes before a masculine singular noun with the definite article o, the preposition and article merge:

de + o = do
depois de o exame → depois do exame

Depois de exame (without the article) would be unusual here; it sounds either incomplete or like you mean “after an exam” in a very generic, non-specific way.
Depois do exame = “after the exam”, referring to a specific, known exam.

Can I move depois do exame to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Word order is quite flexible here. You can say:

Depois do exame, tudo há de ficar bem.
Tudo há de ficar bem depois do exame.

Both are correct.
Starting with Depois do exame slightly emphasises the time frame (“As for after the exam…”), but the meaning does not really change.

Is there any difference between depois do exame and após o exame?

Both can mean “after the exam.”

Depois de / do – very common in spoken and written Portuguese; neutral.
Após – a bit more formal or written, often used in news, documents, or more careful speech.

So Tudo há de ficar bem após o exame is correct, just slightly more formal than depois do exame.

Should depois be followed by a verb in the future subjunctive, like depois de fizeres o exame?

Only if there is a verb clause after depois de. There are two patterns:

Depois de + noun
- depois do exame – after the exam (noun phrase)
Depois de + verb (infinitive or finite)
- depois de fazeres o exame – after you do the exam
- depois de fizeres o exame – also possible, using future subjunctive, but more typical is depois de fazeres in EP here.

In your sentence, exame is a noun, so depois do exame is correct and there is no verb to put in the future subjunctive.

How would this sentence be pronounced in European Portuguese?

Approximate IPA (European Portuguese):

Tudo há de ficar bem depois do exame.
/ˈtuðu ˈa dɨ fiˈkaɾ ˈbẽj dɨˈpojʒ du ɨˈzɐm(ɨ)/

Some tips:

Tudo – tu like “too,” do like soft “doo”: /ˈtuðu/.
há – open a as in “father”; h is silent.
de – usually reduced to /dɨ/.
ficar – stress on -car: /fiˈkaɾ/.
bem – nasal at the end: /bẽj/.
depois – /dɨˈpojʒ/, final -s sounds like English zh.
do exame – /du ɨˈzɐm(ɨ)/; the final e in exame is very weak, often almost silent.