Rapat dimulai setengah delapan.

The meeting starts at half past seven.

Breakdown of Rapat dimulai setengah delapan.

• rapat: the meeting
• dimulai: to start
• setengah delapan: half past seven

Questions & Answers about Rapat dimulai setengah delapan.

What exact time does setengah delapan refer to?

It means 7:30. In Indonesian, setengah [next hour] literally means half to the next hour. So setengah delapan = half to eight = 7:30. Note: In British English, “half eight” is 8:30, but in Indonesian setengah delapan is 7:30.

Why is dimulai used instead of mulai? Is this passive voice?

Yes. Dimulai is the passive form (literally is started), but in practice it often just reads as begins in a neutral/formal style. You can also say:

• Rapat mulai setengah delapan. (intransitive, also natural)
• With an agent:
  • Active: Kami memulai rapat pukul setengah delapan.
  • Passive with agent: Rapat dimulai oleh ketua pukul setengah delapan. (oleh ketua is often omitted)

Do I need the word pukul or jam before the time?

No, it’s optional. All are fine:

• Rapat dimulai setengah delapan. (colloquial/neutral)
• Rapat dimulai pukul setengah delapan. (more formal)
• Rapat dimulai jam setengah delapan. (neutral) Note: pukul is specifically for clock times of events; jam is broader (also used for durations).

How do I say 8:30 in Indonesian?

Use any of these:

• setengah sembilan
• pukul delapan tiga puluh
• jam delapan lewat tiga puluh (menit) Avoid jam delapan setengah for 8:30; that looks like the fraction “eight and a half,” not a clock time.

Can I say 7:15 and 7:45 with similar patterns?

Yes:

• 7:15: jam tujuh lewat lima belas (menit) or pukul tujuh lima belas. Some speakers also say seperempat delapan (regional/colloquial; understood but not universal).
• 7:45: jam delapan kurang lima belas (menit) or pukul tujuh empat puluh lima. Some say jam delapan kurang seperempat (again, not universal).

How do I mark AM vs PM?

Add the part of day:

• pagi (~05:00–10:00), siang (~10:00–15:00), sore (~15:00–18:00), malam (after ~18:00). Examples: Rapat dimulai pukul setengah delapan pagi (7:30 a.m.), Rapat dimulai pukul setengah delapan malam (7:30 p.m.).

Should I include the preposition pada before the time?

Optional; it sounds a bit more formal: Rapat dimulai pada pukul setengah delapan. In everyday speech, people usually drop pada.

Can I put the time at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. For emphasis on time:

• Setengah delapan, rapat dimulai.
• Pukul setengah delapan rapat dimulai.

What’s the difference between setengah and tengah?

• setengah = half (0.5), used with numbers and time-of-day: setengah delapan (7:30), setengah kilo, setengah jam.
• tengah = middle/center: tengah malam (midnight), di tengah jalan. It’s not used to tell the hour like setengah is.

How do I talk about duration vs clock time with the word for hour?

• Clock time: pukul/jam
  • time, e.g., pukul setengah delapan.
• Duration: jam alone, e.g., setengah jam (half an hour), dua jam (two hours). Don’t say jam delapan setengah for 8:30; that reads like “8.5 hours.”

How do I make the sentence clearly past or future?

Add time markers (verbs don’t change for tense):

• Future: Rapat akan dimulai pukul setengah delapan. / Rapat besok dimulai pukul setengah delapan.
• Past: Rapat tadi/sudah dimulai pukul setengah delapan. / Rapat kemarin dimulai pukul setengah delapan.

How do I include who starts the meeting?

Use active or passive with an agent:

• Active: Ketua memulai rapat pukul setengah delapan.
• Passive: Rapat dimulai oleh ketua pukul setengah delapan. (oleh + agent is optional)

How do I say the same time using 24‑hour style?

• 7:30 a.m.: pukul 07.30 (read pukul tujuh tiga puluh), or pukul setengah delapan pagi.
• 7:30 p.m.: pukul 19.30 (read pukul sembilan belas tiga puluh), or pukul setengah delapan malam.

Is rapat only “meeting”? Isn’t there also a rapat that means “tight/close”?

Yes, they’re homographs:

• rapat (noun) = meeting/session (the meaning in this sentence).
• rapat (adjective) = tight/close-packed, e.g., pintu rapat (the door is shut tightly). Context makes it clear.

Can I say mulai dari with a clock time?

Yes, when emphasizing a starting point or a range:

• Acara berlangsung mulai pukul setengah delapan sampai pukul sembilan.
• Mulai dari pukul setengah delapan, akses ditutup. But don’t combine it awkwardly with the passive: prefer Rapat mulai pukul… rather than Rapat dimulai dari….