Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Layanan di toko itu tidak sama murahnya dengan yang di utara. - The service at that shop is not as cheap as the one in the north.

In the pattern sama + adjective + -nya + (dengan …), the suffix -nya nominalizes the adjective (roughly “the cheapness”), allowing you to compare degrees. So sama murahnya dengan … means “equally cheap as ….” In careful Indonesian you keep -nya. Without it (e.g., sama murah dengan …) sounds non‑standard. If you don’t want to use -nya, switch to the se- pattern: (tidak) semurah ….

Can I say tidak semurah instead of tidak sama murahnya dengan? Which is more natural?

Yes. Layanan di toko itu tidak semurah yang di utara is shorter and very natural. Both versions are correct; the se- form is more common in everyday speech.

Could I rephrase it with a positive comparative, like “more expensive than …”?

Yes. You can say: Layanan di toko itu lebih mahal daripada (ketimbang) yang di utara. It conveys the same idea as “not as cheap as ….”

Why is dengan used after sama murahnya? Can I use daripada or seperti?

With the “equal in degree” pattern, use dengan: sama murahnya dengan X.
With a “more/less” comparative, use daripada/ketimbang: lebih mahal daripada X.
With the se- pattern, you typically do not add a preposition: semurah X (not “semurah dengan X”).
Seperti means “like/as (resembling)” and isn’t used for degree of equality with adjectives here.

What does yang mean in yang di utara? Where’s the noun?

Yang is a relativizer/nominalizer. Yang di utara literally means “the one that is in the north.” The head noun is contextually understood (here, the service/store being compared), so it can be omitted. If you want to spell it out, you can say:

… dengan layanan di toko yang di utara.
Or shorter but still clear: … dengan yang di utara itu (adds definiteness).

Is it clear whether yang di utara refers to the store or the service?

In context it’s usually clear, but in isolation it can be ambiguous. To remove ambiguity, repeat the noun:

Layanan di toko itu tidak semurah layanan di toko yang di utara.

Why di (location) and not ke (direction)? And is the spacing correct?

Use di for location (“at/in”), so di utara = “in the north/up north.” Ke is directional (“to/toward”), so it would be wrong here. Also note the spelling rule: the preposition di is written separately (e.g., di toko, di utara), while the passive prefix di- attaches to verbs (e.g., diberi).

Why tidak and not bukan?

Use tidak to negate adjectives and verb phrases. Sama murahnya is an adjective phrase, so tidak is correct. Bukan negates noun phrases or equations (e.g., Dia bukan dokter).

Is layanan the same as pelayanan? Which should I use?

They’re near-synonyms. Layanan is shorter and very common in business/tech contexts; pelayanan can feel slightly more formal or bureaucratic. Either works here.

Does murah imply “low quality,” like English “cheap,” or just “low price”?

Primarily “low price.” If you want the pejorative “cheapo/low quality,” Indonesian uses murahan. Here murah refers to cost, not quality.

Is layanan … murah natural? Should I mention the fee explicitly?

It’s acceptable and commonly understood as “the service (fees) are cheap.” For full clarity, you can say:

Biaya layanannya tidak semurah yang di utara.
Tarif layanannya tidak semurah yang di utara.

Can I front the location for emphasis?

Yes. For example:

Di toko itu, layanannya tidak semurah yang di utara. Adding the comma is common in writing when topicalizing a place phrase.

Do I need itu after yang di utara?

No, but adding itu makes it explicitly definite: yang di utara itu = “that one up north.” Without itu, definiteness is usually clear from context.

Can I drop yang and say … dengan di utara?

No. You need yang to turn di utara (“in the north”) into a noun-like phrase: dengan yang di utara. Without yang, the structure is ungrammatical.

Is kurang murah a good alternative to mean “not as cheap”?

Not really. Kurang murah means “insufficiently cheap/not cheap enough,” without specifying a comparison target. For explicit comparison, use:

tidak semurah … (equality comparison, negative)
or lebih mahal daripada … (positive comparative).