Rapat dimulai pukul delapan seperti biasa.

the meeting

Breakdown of Rapat dimulai pukul delapan seperti biasa.

• seperti: as
• pukul delapan: eight o'clock
• dimulai: to start

Questions & Answers about Rapat dimulai pukul delapan seperti biasa.

What does dimulai mean here, and how is it different from mulai and memulai?

• mulai = to start (intransitive). Example: Rapat mulai pukul delapan.
• memulai = to start something (transitive). Example: Ketua memulai rapat pukul delapan.
• dimulai = is started (passive). Example: Rapat dimulai pukul delapan. The doer is not mentioned.

Can I say Rapat mulai pukul delapan instead? Any nuance difference?

Yes. Rapat mulai pukul delapan is very common and slightly more straightforward. Rapat dimulai… feels a touch more neutral/formal and focuses on the event being started rather than on the meeting as an agent that starts.

What’s the difference between pukul and jam? Which should I use?

Both can mark clock time.

• pukul delapan = at eight o’clock (more formal, schedules/announcements).
• jam delapan = at eight o’clock (everyday speech). Avoid doubling: don’t say pukul jam delapan. Note that jam also means “hour” (duration): dua jam = two hours.

Does the sentence tell me 8 a.m. or 8 p.m.? How do I specify?