Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Jadwal rapat hari ini sama dengan jadwal kemarin. - Today's meeting schedule is the same as yesterday's.

sama dengan means the same as. It functions as the predicate (equals). In neutral/formal Indonesian, keep dengan. In casual speech you’ll also hear sama used without dengan: Jadwal rapat hari ini sama jadwal kemarin. That’s informal but common. Because sama alone can also mean with in colloquial Indonesian, sama dengan is clearer and safer.

Why is rapat after jadwal? Could I say rapat jadwal?

In Indonesian noun–noun compounds, the head comes first and the modifier follows. jadwal rapat = meeting schedule (literally: schedule of meetings). rapat jadwal would imply a meeting about schedules or just sound off. Use jadwal rapat.

What exactly does hari ini modify, and can it move elsewhere?

Here hari ini modifies the noun phrase jadwal rapat, so it means today’s meeting schedule. You can move the time expression for emphasis or style:

Hari ini, jadwal rapat sama dengan jadwal kemarin.
Jadwal rapat untuk hari ini sama dengan jadwal kemarin. Placing hari ini after the noun phrase (Jadwal rapat hari ini …) is very common.

Can I avoid repeating jadwal the second time?

Yes. Two common ways:

Jadwal rapat hari ini sama dengan yang kemarin.
Jadwal rapat hari ini sama dengan kemarin. The version with yang is a bit clearer: yang kemarin = the one from yesterday.

Why isn’t adalah used?

sama dengan already acts like the verb be the same as, so you don’t add adalah. Saying Jadwal … adalah sama dengan … is usually redundant or stiff. Use adalah mainly when equating two noun phrases, as in definitions: Masalah utama adalah waktu.

Is jadwal singular or plural here? Where are the articles like “the” or “a”?

Indonesian doesn’t mark definiteness or plural on nouns. jadwal can mean a schedule or the schedule depending on context. Here it’s understood as the schedule. To show plural explicitly you can use repetition or a quantifier: jadwal-jadwal, beberapa jadwal, dua jadwal.

What’s the difference between sama dengan, sama seperti, and mirip (dengan)?

sama dengan: identical/equal to (closest to equals).
sama seperti: essentially the same as; often interchangeable with sama dengan, a touch softer/more “like.”
mirip (dengan): similar to, not necessarily identical. To emphasize exactness, say sama persis (dengan) or persis sama (dengan).

Does dengan here literally mean “with”? Why is the English “as,” not “with”?

On its own, dengan means with. But sama dengan is a fixed comparison pattern whose best English equivalent is the same as. Translate the whole chunk, not word by word.

How would I say the opposite, that today’s schedule is different from yesterday’s?

Use berbeda (dengan/dari):

Jadwal rapat hari ini berbeda dengan jadwal kemarin.
Jadwal rapat hari ini berbeda dari jadwal kemarin. Both are common; dengan is slightly more formal.

Is sama dengan also the way to say “equals” in math?

Yes. In math, = is read sama dengan: dua tambah dua sama dengan empat.

Pronunciation tips for the tricky words?

Approximate pronunciations:

jadwal: JAD-wahl (a as in father; d+w as a cluster)
rapat: RA-paht (final t often unreleased)
dengan: dəng-an (first e is a schwa; ng as in sing)
kemarin: kə-MAH-rin (first e = schwa)
hari ini: HA-ree EE-nee
sama: SAH-ma

Could I use pertemuan instead of rapat?

Yes, pertemuan also means meeting, but rapat is the default for business/committee settings. Jadwal pertemuan is fine; in corporate/government contexts jadwal rapat is more idiomatic.

Is there any nuance difference between hari ini and untuk hari ini?

hari ini = today (as a time modifier). untuk hari ini = for today and can suggest something arranged/assigned specifically for today. Both work here; untuk adds a slight sense of purpose.

Does kemarin ever mean more than just “yesterday”?

Literally it’s yesterday. Informally it can also mean recently. Related expressions:

kemarin dulu / kemarin lusa: the day before yesterday.
besok: tomorrow; besok lusa: the day after tomorrow.