Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Hoje estou cansado de verdade.

You can say Hoje eu estou cansado de verdade, but in natural European Portuguese, eu is usually omitted unless you want to emphasize I (e.g., I am tired, not someone else).

Why do we use estou and not sou here?

Portuguese has two verbs for “to be”:

ser = more permanent characteristics (I am tall, I am Portuguese)
estar = temporary states or locations (I am tired now, I am at home)

Being tired is a temporary state, so you use estar:

Hoje estou cansado = Today I am (feeling) tired.

If you said Hoje sou cansado, it would sound like you are a generally tired person by nature, which is unusual and almost never said.

Why cansado and not cansada? How do I choose the right form?

cansado / cansada must agree with the gender of the person speaking (the subject eu):

A man speaking: Hoje estou cansado de verdade.
A woman speaking: Hoje estou cansada de verdade.

Plural forms:

A group of only men or a mixed group: Estamos cansados de verdade.
A group of only women: Estamos cansadas de verdade.

So the form changes with who is tired, not with hoje or verdade (they don’t change).

What does de verdade add? Why not just Hoje estou cansado?

Hoje estou cansado simply means Today I’m tired.

de verdade adds emphasis and sincerity, like:

Today I’m *really tired.*
Today I’m *truly tired / for real.*

It can suggest:

It’s not an exaggeration.
Maybe you’re more tired than usual.
You want the listener to take it seriously.

So de verdade intensifies cansado, similar to English really or truly.

Can I use muito instead of de verdade? What’s the difference?

Yes, and the nuance changes slightly:

Hoje estou muito cansado.
= Today I’m very tired.
Focus on degree (how tired you are).
Hoje estou cansado de verdade.
= Today I’m really / truly tired (for real).
Focus on truth / sincerity (it’s not just something you’re saying).

In everyday speech, people often use muito or mesmo:

Hoje estou mesmo cansado. (very natural in Portugal)
Hoje estou muito cansado.

de verdade sounds a bit more like “no joke / honestly”.

What does de verdade literally mean, and why do we need de?

Literally:

de = of / from
verdade = truth

So de verdade = of truth → for real / truly.

You must keep de here.
Saying Hoje estou cansado verdade is wrong.

de + noun is a common way to build adverbial phrases in Portuguese:

de certeza = for sure / certainly
de propósito = on purpose
de verdade = for real / truly

Can I move hoje to somewhere else, like in English?

Yes. Common options:

Hoje estou cansado de verdade.
Estou cansado de verdade hoje.

Both are correct. The difference is small:

At the beginning, hoje is a bit more emphatic: As for today, I’m really tired.
At the end, it sounds a bit more like an afterthought: I’m really tired, today.

In writing, you can put a comma after hoje if you want a pause:

Hoje, estou cansado de verdade.

But in short sentences like this, the comma is optional.

Is cansado an adjective or a past participle of a verb?

Both, depending on context:

As a past participle of cansar (to tire / to make tired):
- O dia cansou-me. Agora estou cansado.
  The day tired me. Now I am tired.
As an adjective meaning “tired”:
- Estou cansado. = I am tired.

In Hoje estou cansado de verdade, you can think of cansado as simply an adjective (tired).

In Portugal, is de verdade natural, or is there a more common way to say this?

de verdade is correct and understood in Portugal, but other intensifiers are more common in everyday European Portuguese, especially mesmo and tão:

Hoje estou mesmo cansado. (very common, very natural)
Hoje estou tão cansado. (I’m so tired today.)
Hoje estou muito cansado.

de verdade can sound a little more marked or expressive, as if you want to underline that you’re not exaggerating.

How would the sentence change if a woman is talking?

Only the adjective changes:

Man: Hoje estou cansado de verdade.
Woman: Hoje estou cansada de verdade.

Everything else (hoje, estou, de, verdade) stays the same.

Can I say Eu hoje estou cansado de verdade? Does the order eu hoje sound strange?

You can say it, and it’s still correct. Possible versions:

Hoje estou cansado de verdade. (most common / neutral)
Eu hoje estou cansado de verdade.
Hoje eu estou cansado de verdade.

Eu hoje estou… puts a bit of weight on eu and hoje together, like:

As for me today, I’m really tired.

In normal everyday speech, Hoje estou cansado de verdade (without eu) is the most natural.

How is this pronounced in European Portuguese?

Approximate IPA (Lisbon/central accent):

Hoje → [ˈo.ʒɨ] (similar to “OH-zh(uh)”)
estou → [ʃˈto] or [ɨʃˈto] (often sounds like “shto”)
cansado → [kɐ̃ˈsaðu]
de → [dɨ]
verdade → [vɨɾˈdad(ɨ)]

Spoken together, many people will say something like:

Hoje estou cansado de verdade. → “Oj shto kɐ̃ˈsaðu dɨ vɾˈdadɨ”

The -e at the end of hoje and verdade is usually a very short, almost neutral vowel sound [ɨ] in European Portuguese.

Is the sentence formal or informal? Can I use it with anyone?

The sentence is neutral and completely safe in almost any context:

You can say it to friends and family.
You can say it at work, to your boss or colleagues.
You can say it to a teacher.

There’s nothing slangy or rude in Hoje estou cansado de verdade. It’s standard, everyday Portuguese.