Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya mendapat kabar baik pagi ini.

Both mean “to get/obtain” and are usually interchangeable. Mendapat is a bit leaner and very common with set collocations like mendapat kabar. Mendapatkan can feel slightly more explicit about obtaining a result (sometimes implying effort), but with kabar both are natural:

Saya mendapat kabar baik pagi ini.
Saya mendapatkan kabar baik pagi ini.

Can I use menerima instead of mendapat?

Yes. Menerima emphasizes receiving something that is given/sent (an email, call, message). With “news,” both are fine, with a small nuance:

Saya menerima kabar dari kantor. (received)
Saya mendapat kabar dari kantor. (got/learned)

Is mendapati correct here?

No. Mendapati means “to find (someone/something) in a state,” e.g., Saya mendapati dia tidur. For “receive/get news,” use mendapat/mendapatkan/menerima.

What does the men- prefix on mendapat do?

meN- is an active verb-forming prefix. With bases starting with d, it surfaces as men-, so dapat → mendapat (active transitive). The passive counterpart uses di-: didapat.

Why kabar baik, not baik kabar?

In Indonesian, adjectives typically follow the noun: noun + adjective. So kabar baik = “good news.” Putting the adjective first is ungrammatical in this context.

What’s the difference between kabar and berita?

Kabar: personal updates/general “news” about people or situations; common and neutral in daily speech. Collocations: kabar baik, kabar gembira, ada kabar.
Berita: news reports/information in media or more formal contexts. Berita baik is fine but often feels more formal or media-like.

Do I need an article like “a/some” (e.g., sebuah kabar)?

No. Indonesian has no articles, and kabar is typically uncountable. Sebuah kabar sounds odd in everyday speech. Use kabar baik. To express existence, use ada: Ada kabar baik.

Could I say kabar yang baik?

Usually no. Yang is for specifying/contrasting a particular item: Kabar yang baik adalah… If you just mean “good news” in general, stick with kabar baik.

Where can pagi ini go in the sentence?

It’s flexible:

Neutral: Saya mendapat kabar baik pagi ini.
Time emphasis: Pagi ini, saya mendapat kabar baik. (comma optional in writing)
After the subject: Saya pagi ini mendapat kabar baik. (less common but acceptable) Optional formal: Pada pagi ini saya… Avoid di pagi ini in standard usage.

Should it be pagi ini or tadi pagi? And is ini pagi ever correct?

Pagi ini = “this morning” (typically while it’s still morning, or in schedules).
Tadi pagi = “earlier this morning” (earlier today, useful when morning has passed or to stress “earlier”). You’ll also see pagi tadi (same as tadi pagi) and formal pagi hari ini. Don’t say ini pagi for “this morning”; the order is noun + ini → pagi ini.

Does Indonesian mark past tense? Do I need sudah?

There’s no tense marking. Time expressions do the job. You can add aspect markers:

sudah (already): Saya sudah mendapat kabar baik.
baru (just): Saya baru mendapat kabar baik.
telah (formal “already”): Saya telah mendapat kabar baik.

Can I drop Saya?

Yes, if context makes the subject clear: (Saya) mendapat kabar baik pagi ini. Indonesian often omits pronouns when they’re inferable. In isolation, keep Saya.

What’s the register difference between saya, aku, and gue?

saya: neutral–polite; safe almost everywhere.
aku: informal/intimate.
gue/gua: very informal Jakarta slang. Colloquial example: Gue baru dapet kabar baik pagi ini. You may also see literary ku- attached to verbs: Kudapat kabar… (not common in speech).

Is dapat also “can”? Could Saya dapat kabar baik be ambiguous?

Dapat means both “get” and “can/be able to.” With a direct object, it means “get”: Saya dapat kabar baik = I got good news. As “can,” it’s followed by a verb: Saya dapat pergi = I can go.

How would the passive or object-fronting look?

Object fronted (common and natural): Kabar baik itu saya dapat pagi ini.
Passive with di- (more formal/less conversational): Kabar baik itu didapat (oleh saya) pagi ini. Active Saya mendapat… is the most natural in everyday speech.

How do I say what the news is about?

Use tentang (“about”) or bahwa (“that”) introducing a clause:

Saya mendapat kabar baik tentang proyek itu.
Saya mendapat kabar bahwa proyek itu disetujui.

Any other natural ways to say “good news”?

Yes:

kabar gembira (happy/cheering news; stronger)
kabar bahagia (joyful news)
berita baik (more formal)
kabar yang menggembirakan (encouraging news)

Is kabar ever spelled khabar?

In standard Indonesian, use kabar. Khabar is older/Malay spelling (still used in Malaysian Malay).

How do I negate or make a question?

Negation: Saya tidak mendapat kabar baik pagi ini.
Yes/no question: Apakah Anda mendapat kabar baik pagi ini? (Informal: Kamu mendapat kabar baik pagi ini nggak? or use rising intonation.)

Is kabar baik also used in greetings?

Yes. In response to Apa kabar?, people often say Kabar baik or just Baik (“I’m well”). In your sentence, kabar baik literally means “good news,” not a greeting formula.