Nos dias difíceis, nós apoiamo-nos uns aos outros e falamos com calma.

Here nos is a contraction of em + os.

• em = in / on
• os = the (masculine plural)

So:

• nos dias = in the days / on the days

In English, we would usually say on difficult days or in difficult times, but Portuguese often uses this structure with time expressions.

So nos dias difíceis is a natural way to say on difficult days or in difficult times.

Because difíceis is agreeing with dias, which is plural.

In Portuguese, adjectives usually agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number

Here:

• dia = singular
• dias = plural

So:

• dia difícil = difficult day
• dias difíceis = difficult days

The adjective changes to the plural form: difícil → difíceis.

Yes, Portuguese often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person.

So you could say:

• Nos dias difíceis, apoiamo-nos uns aos outros e falamos com calma.

That would still be correct.

The pronoun nós is included here for one of these common reasons:

• to add emphasis
• to make the subject extra clear
• to sound slightly more explicit or contrastive

So nós is optional here, but perfectly natural.

They are both in the present indicative, first person plural:

• apoiamo-nos = we support each other / we support ourselves
• falamos = we speak / we talk

In this sentence, the present tense expresses a general or habitual action, not necessarily something happening right now.

So the idea is:

• When times are hard, this is what we do.

In European Portuguese, affirmative main clauses normally place object/reflexive pronouns after the verb. This is called enclisis.

So:

• apoiamo-nos = standard European Portuguese

In many cases, nos apoiamos sounds more like Brazilian Portuguese, or it can appear in Portuguese when there is a word that triggers pronoun placement before the verb.

In this sentence, there is no trigger forcing the pronoun before the verb, so apoiamo-nos is the expected European Portuguese form.

Also notice the hyphen:

• apoiamo-nos

That hyphen is standard when the pronoun comes after the verb.

Yes, this is a pronominal use of the verb, and in this sentence it has a reciprocal meaning.

• apoiar = to support
• apoiar-se can mean to support oneself / lean / rely, depending on context
• apoiamo-nos here means we support one another

So nos literally means ourselves, but because the sentence also includes uns aos outros, the meaning is clearly each other, not ourselves in an individual sense.

Great question. Strictly speaking, nos already suggests that the action comes back to the group, but uns aos outros makes the reciprocal meaning fully explicit.

Without uns aos outros, apoiamo-nos could sometimes be understood more loosely as:

• we support ourselves
• we support one another

Adding uns aos outros removes that ambiguity and emphasizes mutual support:

• apoiamo-nos uns aos outros = we support each other

So this combination is very natural when the speaker wants to be extra clear or expressive.

It means one another or each other.

Breakdown:

• uns = some / ones
• aos = a + os
• outros = others

But you should learn uns aos outros as a set expression meaning:

• each other
• one another

It is commonly used to show reciprocity, for example:

• ajudamo-nos uns aos outros = we help each other
• ouvimo-nos uns aos outros = we listen to each other

Yes. It can change for gender and number, depending on who is being referred to.

Common forms include:

• um ao outro = one another / each other, singular masculine
• uma à outra = one another / each other, singular feminine
• uns aos outros = each other, plural masculine or mixed group
• umas às outras = each other, plural feminine

In your sentence, uns aos outros is used because the group is either:

• mixed gender, or
• unspecified, where masculine plural is the default form

Because the subject is already clear from the first part of the sentence.

The structure is:

• nós apoiamo-nos ... e falamos ...

Once nós has been established, Portuguese does not need to repeat it before every verb.

This is very normal. Repeating the pronoun again would usually sound unnecessary unless you wanted strong emphasis.

Both are possible, but com calma is very common and natural.

• com calma = calmly / with calm / in a calm way
• calmamente = calmly

In everyday Portuguese, com calma often sounds more idiomatic and conversational.

So:

• falamos com calma = we speak calmly

It has a slightly softer, more natural feel than falamos calmamente, though both can be correct depending on style.

It is very natural here because Nos dias difíceis is a fronted time expression.

The comma helps separate:

• the setting or time frame: Nos dias difíceis
• the main statement: nós apoiamo-nos...

In short:

• with comma = clearer pause, very natural in writing
• without comma = sometimes possible, but less neatly separated

So the comma is a good stylistic choice here.

Yes. A very natural version in European Portuguese would be:

• Nos dias difíceis, apoiamo-nos uns aos outros e falamos com calma.

This is probably how many speakers would say it unless they wanted extra emphasis on we.

So:

• with nós = a bit more explicit or emphatic
• without nós = equally correct and often more typical

Because both verbs are in the first person plural form:

• apoiamo-nos
• falamos

And the sentence has only one subject: nós.

So the meaning is:

• we support each other
• and we speak calmly

Portuguese often links actions this way with e when the same subject performs both actions.