Hoje o combustível está mais caro, mas preciso de encher o depósito na mesma.

Because Portuguese often drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

• preciso = I need
• So preciso de encher o depósito already means I need to fill the tank

You can say Eu preciso de encher o depósito, but it usually adds emphasis, contrast, or clarity rather than being necessary.

Portuguese often uses estar for a temporary or current state, and ser for something more permanent or defining.

Here, the idea is that fuel is more expensive now / at the moment, so:

• está mais caro = is more expensive right now

If you said é mais caro, it would sound more like a general characteristic.

Portuguese uses definite articles much more often than English.

So where English says:

• Fuel is more expensive today

Portuguese naturally says:

• O combustível está mais caro hoje

The article does not necessarily mean a specific single fuel; it can refer to fuel in general in the current context.

Literally, combustível means fuel.

In context, it can refer generally to the fuel used for vehicles. Depending on the situation, it may include:

• gasolina = petrol / gasoline
• gasóleo = diesel

So o combustível está mais caro is like saying fuel is more expensive rather than naming a specific type.

Mais caro is the normal comparative form:

• caro = expensive
• mais caro = more expensive

Portuguese usually forms comparatives with:

• mais + adjective

Examples:

• mais barato = cheaper
• mais rápido = faster
• mais difícil = more difficult

In this sentence, the thing being compared is understood from context, for example than before or than usual.

In European Portuguese, precisar normally takes the preposition de.

So you say:

• preciso de dinheiro = I need money
• preciso de descansar = I need to rest
• preciso de encher o depósito = I need to fill the tank

This is especially important for learners because in Brazilian Portuguese people often omit de before an infinitive in everyday speech, but in Portugal preciso de encher is the expected form.

It means to fill the tank.

• encher = to fill
• o depósito = the tank

In Portugal, depósito is the normal word for a vehicle’s fuel tank.
So this is a very natural European Portuguese expression.

A native speaker may also say things like:

• encher o depósito
• atestar o depósito = fill the tank completely

No. Depósito can have several meanings depending on context, such as:

• a tank
• a reservoir
• a storage area
• a deposit

But in a sentence about fuel and filling it, o depósito clearly means the fuel tank.

This is also a good reminder that Portuguese words often have a wider range of meanings than a single English translation suggests.

Here na mesma is an idiomatic expression meaning something like:

• all the same
• anyway
• still
• even so

So:

• mas preciso de encher o depósito na mesma

means:

• but I still need to fill the tank anyway
• but I need to fill the tank all the same

It does not literally mean in the same in this sentence. It is a fixed, colloquial expression that is very common in Portugal.

Yes. In many contexts, na mesma sounds more conversational and informal.

You could also say:

• Hoje o combustível está mais caro, mas mesmo assim preciso de encher o depósito.

That means almost the same thing:

• Today fuel is more expensive, but even so I need to fill the tank.

So:

• na mesma = very natural, colloquial European Portuguese
• mesmo assim = also natural, often a bit more neutral or standard

Putting Hoje at the beginning highlights the time frame right away:

• Hoje o combustível está mais caro... = Today, fuel is more expensive...

Portuguese is fairly flexible with word order, so you could also hear:

• O combustível está mais caro hoje...

Both are correct. Starting with Hoje simply gives prominence to today.

Because here it is being used as an uncountable noun, like fuel in English.

So:

• o combustível = fuel in general

If you were talking about different types of fuel, then a plural might make sense:

• os combustíveis = fuels

But in this sentence, singular is the natural choice.

Yes. That is a very close literal translation.

A more natural English translation might be:

• Fuel is more expensive today, but I still need to fill the tank anyway.

Both capture the idea well. The Portuguese sentence combines:

1. a current situation: fuel is more expensive today
2. a contrasting necessity: but I still need to fill the tank

Yes, very natural.

Especially European Portuguese features here include:

• preciso de encher
• o depósito for fuel tank
• na mesma as a common colloquial expression

A slightly more neutral version would be:

• Hoje o combustível está mais caro, mas mesmo assim preciso de encher o depósito.

But the original sentence sounds very normal and idiomatic in Portugal.