Toko buka hingga pukul sembilan malam; datanglah lebih dahulu.

to be

Breakdown of Toko buka hingga pukul sembilan malam; datanglah lebih dahulu.

• datang: to come
• toko: the shop
• malam: the night

Questions & Answers about Toko buka hingga pukul sembilan malam; datanglah lebih dahulu.

What does the word hingga mean here, and how is it different from sampai or sampai dengan?

All three mean until/up to.

• hingga: a bit more formal/literary.
• sampai: most common in everyday speech.
• sampai dengan (often written s.d.): formal, often used for ranges (from X up to and including Y). In this sentence, hingga and sampai are interchangeable: Toko buka hingga/sampai pukul sembilan malam.

Why is pukul used instead of jam?

Both can introduce clock time, but:

• pukul is more formal/neutral for telling time.
• jam is very common in speech and also means hour(s) as a duration (e.g., dua jam = two hours). So you can also say: … sampai jam sembilan malam. In signs, you might see pkl. 21.00 (abbrev. of pukul).

What does malam add, and what are the other time-of-day words?

It clarifies the part of the day: malam = evening/night. Common divisions (approximate):

• pagi (morning): ~04:00–10:00
• siang (midday/early afternoon): ~11:00–15:00
• sore (late afternoon/early evening): ~15:00–18:00
• malam (evening/night): ~18:00–24:00 So is 9 p.m.