Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Fala devagar, assim eu consigo perceber cada palavra. - Speak slowly, that way I can understand each word.

Fala devagar = informal “you” (tu)
– You’re talking to someone you’d call tu (a friend, child, someone your age, etc.).
– This is the affirmative imperative for tu.
Fale devagar = formal “you” (você) or polite form
– Used with você (more formal/distant) or in polite requests to strangers, customers, etc.

So the sentence as given is informal: Fala devagar…
For a formal / polite version, you’d say: Fale devagar, assim eu consigo perceber cada palavra.
(And usually also add por favor in real life.)

Is fala here an imperative or just the present tense “you speak”?

Formally it’s the imperative, but the form is identical to the present tense for tu:

Present (indicative):
– Tu falas devagar. = You speak slowly.
Imperative (command/request):
– Fala devagar. = Speak slowly.

The difference is only in use and intonation, not in the form itself.
At the start of a sentence without tu, and with a “command” intonation, fala is understood as an imperative: “Speak”, not “you speak”.

What exactly does devagar mean? Can I just use lentamente instead?

Both are correct, but there’s a nuance:

devagar
– Most common everyday word for “slowly” when talking about speaking, walking, driving, etc.
– Very natural and neutral in speech: Fala devagar.
lentamente
– Also means “slowly”, but feels a bit more formal / bookish or neutral-in-writing.
– Perfectly correct: Fala lentamente, assim eu consigo perceber cada palavra.

In everyday European Portuguese, devagar is the default sound in this sentence.

What does assim add here? Could I just say Fala devagar, eu consigo perceber cada palavra?

Assim is important in this sentence. Here it means “that way / like that / so” in a result sense:

Fala devagar, assim eu consigo perceber cada palavra.
≈ “Speak slowly, so that I can understand each word.”

Functions of assim here:

Introduces the result or consequence of speaking slowly.
Gives a natural, conversational link between the two parts.

If you say Fala devagar, eu consigo perceber cada palavra, it sounds odd, almost like:

“Speak slowly, I (already) can understand every word.”
The cause–effect link becomes unclear.

More alternatives that keep the same idea:

Fala devagar, assim consigo perceber cada palavra. (dropping eu)
Fala devagar, para eu conseguir perceber cada palavra.
Fala devagar, para que eu consiga perceber cada palavra. (more formal)

Why is it eu consigo and not eu posso (“I can”)? What’s the difference between conseguir and poder?

Both can translate as “can”, but not in the same way:

poder = to be allowed to / to be able to (in general)
– Permission, general ability, possibility
– Posso sair? = May I leave?
– Posso levantar 20 quilos. = I can lift 20 kilos.
conseguir = to manage to / to succeed in / to be able to in practice
– Focuses on actually managing to do something in a specific situation
– Consigo perceber-te se falares devagar. = I can manage to understand you if you speak slowly.

In the sentence:

assim eu consigo perceber cada palavra
= “then I manage to understand every word / I’m able to understand every word (in practice).”

Using posso here (assim eu posso perceber…) is grammatically possible but much less natural; it sounds more like “I’m allowed to understand,” which isn’t the idea.

Why do you use perceber for “understand” here? Isn’t entender the more common verb?

This is a key European vs Brazilian difference.

In Portugal:

perceber is extremely common in speech with the meaning “to understand”, especially:
- spoken language (what someone is saying)
- explanations, instructions, etc.
entender also exists and is correct, but perceber often sounds more natural and frequent.

In Brazil:

entender is the usual everyday verb for “to understand”.
perceber is used more like “to realize / to notice”, not the default for “understand.”

So in European Portuguese:

Eu não percebo. = I don’t understand. (very common)
Your sentence is very idiomatic:
…assim eu consigo perceber cada palavra.

You could also say:

…assim eu consigo entender cada palavra.
but perceber is perfectly natural and common in Portugal.

Is the subject pronoun eu really necessary? Could I say “assim consigo perceber cada palavra”?

Eu is optional here.

Assim eu consigo perceber cada palavra.
Assim consigo perceber cada palavra.

Both are correct. In natural European Portuguese:

Speakers often drop subject pronouns because the verb ending (consigo) already shows the person (eu).
Adding eu can:
- add slight emphasis (“I (as opposed to someone else) can understand”), or
- simply be the speaker’s style / rhythm.

In your sentence, omitting eu is probably more typical in casual speech:

Fala devagar, assim consigo perceber cada palavra.

Can I change the word order in the second part? For example, “assim eu percebo cada palavra” or “eu consigo cada palavra perceber”?

Some changes are fine, others are not natural.

✅ Natural alternatives:

…assim eu consigo perceber cada palavra. (original)
…assim consigo perceber cada palavra. (no eu)
…assim eu percebo cada palavra.
– Here you drop consigo and just use the present tense percebo (“I understand each word (in that case)”).

❌ Very unnatural / wrong:

*eu consigo cada palavra perceber
– You can’t freely move the infinitive perceber to the end like this.
*assim eu consigo cada palavra perceber
– Same issue: this word order is not used in Portuguese.

The basic, natural order here is: > [assim] + [subject (optional)] + [verb] + [infinitive] + [object]
> Assim (eu) consigo perceber cada palavra.

Why is there a comma before assim? Is it obligatory?

Yes, the comma is standard here because assim is introducing a new clause expressing a consequence or result:

Fala devagar, assim eu consigo perceber cada palavra.
– First clause: Fala devagar (imperative).
– Second clause: assim eu consigo perceber cada palavra (result).

In writing, European Portuguese normally:

separates such clauses with a comma,
especially when you have linking words like assim, por isso, então, etc. at the start of the second clause.

In informal speech, of course, there’s no comma, but the pause and intonation match that comma.

Is Fala devagar polite, or could it sound rude? How would I say this more politely in Portugal?

Fala devagar is:

informal (uses tu),
can sound a bit direct depending on tone,
OK with friends, family, children.

To be more polite / formal in European Portuguese, you’d typically:

switch to você/o senhor / a senhora forms (fale),
and add a softener like por favor or se faz favor.

Examples:

Fale mais devagar, por favor.
Pode falar mais devagar, por favor? (very polite, using pode instead of imperative)
Fale um bocadinho mais devagar, se faz favor. (very Portuguese-sounding)

Among friends, you might soften the original too:

Fala um bocadinho mais devagar, por favor.

What is the nuance of cada palavra versus todas as palavras? Could I say “…perceber todas as palavras”?

Both are possible, but the feel is slightly different:

cada palavra = each word, one by one
– Emphasizes individual words and the idea of catching every single one.
– Fits very well with listening comprehension.
todas as palavras = all the words (as a whole set)
– Focuses more on the idea of the complete group.

In this context:

…assim eu consigo perceber cada palavra.
sounds very natural and idiomatic: “I can catch every single word.”
…assim eu consigo perceber todas as palavras.
is also correct, just a little less idiomatic than cada palavra here.

How should I pronounce devagar and perceber in European Portuguese?

Approximate guidance (not IPA, but to give you an idea):

devagar
– Stress on the final -gar: de-va-GAR
– de- like “deh”
– -va- like “vah” (with a light a)
– -gar with a hard g (as in “go”), final r often soft and guttural in Portugal.
perceber
– Stress on -ber: per-ce-BER
– per-: the r is guttural at the back of the throat.
– ce-: like “seh” (the c before e is s sound).
– -ber: like “bear” but with that guttural r at the end.

In European Portuguese, many unstressed vowels (like the first e in perceber) tend to be very short and reduced, sometimes close to a schwa (the sound in English “a” in “about”). So you’ll hear something closer to:

pər-se-BER
də-va-GAR

But even if your vowels are still a bit “Spanish-like” at first, people will understand you.