Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Tulis jadwal rapat di buku harian. - Write the meeting schedule in the diary.

Yes. Tulis is the bare verb root used for commands in Indonesian. The subject is implied as “you” (singular or plural). You don’t need to say kamu or Anda unless you want to be explicit: Anda, tulis jadwal rapat di buku harian.

What’s the difference between tulis, menulis, tulislah, and menulislah?

tulis: imperative (Write!).
menulis: to write / is writing; needs a subject, e.g., Saya menulis jadwal rapat di buku harian.
tulislah: imperative softened or more polite/literary.
menulislah: imperative with the meN- form; formal/literary, less common in everyday speech than tulis/tulislah.

When would I use tuliskan instead of tulis?

Tuliskan (with -kan) often implies “write it down (for someone/completely)” or highlights the object/benefactive. Both are correct here:

Tulis jadwal rapat di buku harian.
Tuliskan jadwal rapat di buku harian. If there’s an explicit beneficiary, -kan feels natural: Tuliskan jadwal rapat untuk saya di buku harian.

How can I make this request more polite?

Add a politeness marker:

Tolong tulis jadwal rapat di buku harian. (please, friendly/neutral)
Silakan tulis jadwal rapat di buku harian. (please go ahead; courteous)
Mohon tulis jadwal rapat di buku harian. (formal request) Ending with ya also softens: Tolong tulis … ya.

Why is it di and not ke?

di marks a location (in/on/at). The result of writing is that the information is located in the diary, so di fits: di buku harian. ke marks movement toward a destination, and isn’t used for where text ends up on a page. If you really want to stress the idea of “into,” you can say ke dalam buku harian, but di is the default.

Can I use pada instead of di here?

Not naturally. pada is used with times, people, or abstract targets (e.g., pada hari Senin, pada mereka). For a physical location like a book/page, use di: di buku harian, di halaman ini.

Does di here mean “in” or “on”?

Indonesian di covers both “in” and “on.” Context tells you which. If you want to be explicit:

inside: di dalam buku harian
on a page: di halaman buku harian

What exactly is buku harian? Is it the same as a planner?

buku harian literally “daily book” = a diary/journal (often personal). For a work planner, Indonesians commonly say agenda, buku agenda, or even planner. In office contexts, Tulis jadwal rapat di agenda is very natural.

How do I say “my diary” or “your diary”?

buku harianku / buku harian saya = my diary (informal / neutral-polite)
buku harianmu / buku harian Anda = your diary (informal / formal) Example: Tolong tulis jadwal rapat di buku harianku.

There’s no “the” in jadwal rapat. How do I make it specific?

Use -nya or a demonstrative:

Tulis jadwal rapatnya di buku harian. (write the meeting schedule)
Tulis jadwal rapat itu di buku harian.

Is agenda rapat the same as jadwal rapat?

No.

jadwal rapat = meeting schedule (times/dates).
agenda rapat = meeting agenda (list of topics to discuss). Don’t confuse them: Tulis agenda rapat asks for topics, not times.

Could I say catat instead of tulis?

Yes. catat means “note (down)/record” and is very natural with schedules:

Catat jadwal rapat di buku harian. It’s a bit more “make a note of” than the neutral “write.”

Can I rearrange the word order?

Default order is Verb + Object + Place: Tulis (V) jadwal rapat (O) di buku harian (Place). You can front the place for emphasis: Di buku harian, tulis jadwal rapat. Putting the place between verb and object (Tulis di buku harian jadwal rapat) sounds awkward.

How do I make it negative?

Use jangan before the verb:

Jangan tulis jadwal rapat di buku harian. Polite: Tolong jangan tulis jadwal rapat di buku harian.

Does this refer to one meeting or many?

Indonesian doesn’t mark plural by default. jadwal rapat can mean a single meeting’s schedule or a schedule of multiple meetings; context decides. To be explicit:

many meetings: jadwal rapat-rapat, jadwal beberapa rapat
a particular meeting’s schedule (often better as topics): use agenda rapat for the outline of one meeting.

Is the sentence formal or informal? How do I address different audiences?

It’s a neutral imperative. Adjust formality with pronouns/markers:

Formal: Silakan tulis jadwal rapat di buku harian, Anda.
Neutral: Tolong tulis jadwal rapat di buku harian.
Informal: Tulis jadwal rapat di buku harian, ya.

I sometimes see di attached to verbs (e.g., ditulis). Is di here the same?

No. Here di is a preposition (separate word) meaning “in/on/at,” as in di buku harian. When attached to a verb (di-), it’s the passive prefix: ditulis = “is/was written.” Example: Jadwal rapat ditulis di buku harian.

Any capitalization or punctuation points?

Capitalize only the first word (and proper nouns). buku harian is lowercase. Use a period at the end. The preposition di is lowercase and spaced from the noun: di buku harian.