No consultório de psicologia, a rececionista fala sempre com voz calma.

At the psychology office, the receptionist always speaks with a calm voice.

Breakdown of No consultório de psicologia, a rececionista fala sempre com voz calma.

• de: of
• em: in
• sempre: always
• com: with
• falar: to speak
• calmo: calm
• a voz: the voice
• o consultório: the office
• a psicologia: the psychology
• a rececionista: the receptionist

Questions & Answers about No consultório de psicologia, a rececionista fala sempre com voz calma.

Why is it No consultório and not Em o consultório?

In Portuguese, the preposition em (in, on, at) contracts with the definite article:

• em + o = no (masculine singular)
• em + a = na (feminine singular)
• em + os = nos (masculine plural)
• em + as = nas (feminine plural)

So em o consultório must contract to no consultório.
Em o consultório is not used; it sounds incorrect or foreign.

What exactly does consultório mean? Is it "office" or "clinic"?

Consultório is the place where a health professional sees patients individually: a doctor, dentist, psychologist, etc.

• consultório de psicologia = a psychologist’s office / psychology practice
• consultório de dentista = dentist’s office

It is not a general business office (that would be escritório) and not a larger medical facility (clínica, hospital). So consultório is usually a small medical/health office.

Why is it de psicologia and not de psicólogo or psicológico?

• de psicologia = "of psychology" (the field/area). It describes the type of practice or specialty.

  • consultório de psicologia ≈ a psychology practice.

• de psicólogo = "of a psychologist" (belonging to a person). That sounds like you’re focusing on ownership: a psychologist’s office, and is less natural as a general label for this kind of place.

• consultório psicológico is grammatically correct, but unusual. For professions and areas, Portuguese normally prefers the de + noun structure:

  • consultório de cardiologia (not consultório cardiológico in everyday speech)
  • consultório de nutrição, etc.

So de psicologia is the most idiomatic way to name the type of consultório.

Why do we have a rececionista with the article, but no article in com voz calma?

1. a rececionista

Portuguese uses the definite article a lot more than English, especially with professions when talking about a specific person in a context:

• A rececionista fala... = The receptionist speaks... (the one who works there)

Without the article (Rececionista fala...) it sounds like a note or a headline, not normal speech.

2. com voz calma

With fixed expressions that describe manner, it’s common to omit the indefinite article:

• falar com voz calma – speak with a calm voice
• falar com voz alta/baixa – speak loudly/quietly
• ouvir com atenção – listen with attention

You can say com uma voz calma, but that sounds a bit more descriptive or emphatic (drawing attention to the voice itself), whereas com voz calma is the standard, neutral collocation.

What is the difference between rececionista and recepcionista?

They mean the same thing: receptionist.

The difference is spelling, linked to region and the spelling reform:

• In European Portuguese (Portugal), the official modern spelling is rececionista and receção (no p).
• In Brazilian Portuguese, the spelling is recepcionista and recepção (with p).

In both cases, the p is silent in pronunciation. Even where it is written (recepcionista), you don’t pronounce a [p] sound.

Can I say a rececionista sempre fala instead of a rececionista fala sempre?

Yes, both orders are grammatically correct:

• a rececionista fala sempre com voz calma
• a rececionista sempre fala com voz calma

In European Portuguese, placing sempre after the verb (fala sempre) is the most neutral. Putting sempre before the verb (sempre fala) can slightly highlight the frequency, sometimes with a hint of contrast:

• Ela fala sempre com voz calma. (simple statement)
• Ela sempre fala com voz calma, mesmo em situações difíceis. (emphasising always, even in difficult situations)

But in many contexts they are interchangeable.

Could I say fala sempre calmamente instead of fala sempre com voz calma? What’s the difference?

You can say both; they are correct but have slightly different nuances:

• fala sempre com voz calma

  • Focuses on the voice quality (tone, sound).
  • Suggests that her tone of voice is calm.

• fala sempre calmamente

  • Uses the adverb calmamente (“calmly”).
  • Describes the overall manner of speaking, not only the sound of the voice.

Often they overlap, and either is fine. If you specifically want to talk about the voice’s tone, com voz calma is more precise.

Why is it voz calma and not voz calmo?

In Portuguese, adjectives normally agree with the noun in gender and number.

• voz is a feminine noun: a voz
• So the adjective must be feminine too: calma (not calmo, which is masculine).

Examples:

• a voz calma – the calm voice
• a voz bonita – the beautiful voice
• o tom calmo – the calm tone (masculine noun tom, so calmo)

How would this sentence look in Brazilian Portuguese?

The structure is the same; the main change is the spelling of rececionista:

• No consultório de psicologia, a recepcionista fala sempre com voz calma.

That is perfectly natural Brazilian Portuguese.
(Pronunciation will differ by accent, but grammatically and lexically this is standard.)

How do you pronounce consultório, psicologia, and rececionista in European Portuguese?

Approximate European Portuguese pronunciations (IPA + rough English-like guide):

• consultório – /kõsuɫˈtɔɾju/

  • roughly: kohn-sul-TÓ-ryu
  • Stress on tó.

• psicologia – /psikuluˈʒi.ɐ/

  • roughly: psee-ku-lu-zhee-uh
  • The ps at the start is really pronounced [ps], not just [s].
  • g before i is [ʒ], like the s in vision.

• rececionista – /ʁɨsɛsuˈniʃtɐ/ (can vary slightly by region)

  • roughly: hruh-se-su-NEESH-tuh
  • Initial r is a guttural sound [ʁ], like French or German r.
  • Unstressed e sounds are reduced and very short.