Learn Hardcore Swedish: Vi kom samtidigt till stationen. - We arrived at the station at the same time.

Vi kommer snart. = We are coming soon.
Vi kom i går. = We came yesterday.
Vi har kommit fram. = We have arrived.
Vi hade kommit innan det började regna. = We had arrived before it started to rain.

Why is it till stationen and not på stationen?

till marks motion toward a place: komma till = come/arrive to.
på is for location (being at/on a place): vara på stationen = be at the station.

So:

Vi kom till stationen. = We arrived at the station.
Vi var på stationen. = We were at the station.

You’ll also see:

vid stationen = by/near the station (location).
If you want to stress entering the premises: gå in på stationen (go into the station).

Can I move samtidigt around? For example: Vi kom till stationen samtidigt or Samtidigt kom vi till stationen?

Yes. All of these are correct:

Vi kom samtidigt till stationen.
Vi kom till stationen samtidigt. (very common)
Samtidigt kom vi till stationen. (emphasizes the time; sounds a bit more written/formal)

Remember Swedish V2: if you start with an adverbial like Samtidigt, the finite verb (kom) must still be the second element: Samtidigt kom vi …

Does samtidigt mean the same as tillsammans?

No.

samtidigt = at the same time (simultaneously). It says nothing about being physically together.
tillsammans = together (in company, jointly).

Examples:

Vi kom samtidigt till stationen, men i olika bilar. = We arrived at the same time, but in different cars.
Vi kom tillsammans till stationen. = We arrived together (as a group).

What’s the difference between kom and kom fram (till)?

Both can indicate arrival, but:

kom till
- place = neutral, “came to/arrived at.”
kom fram (till)
- place = emphasizes reaching the destination/completion (often after some effort or travel).

Both are fine here:

Vi kom till stationen samtidigt.
Vi kom fram till stationen samtidigt. (a bit more “we made it there”)

When do I use samtidigt som?

Use samtidigt som to introduce a clause (“at the same time as …”):

Vi kom till stationen samtidigt som tåget avgick. = We arrived at the station just as the train departed.
Vi kom samtidigt som de kom. = We arrived at the same time as they did.

Without a following clause, use just samtidigt:

Vi kom till stationen samtidigt.

How does negation work here? Where do I put inte?

Place inte after the finite verb:

Vi kom inte samtidigt till stationen. = We did not arrive at the same time at the station.
Vi kom inte till stationen samtidigt.

If you front something (V2 still applies):

Samtidigt kom vi inte till stationen. (unusual meaning/emphasis: it wasn’t at the same time that we arrived at the station)

Why is it stationen (definite)? Could it be en station?

stationen = “the station” (definite). You use it when a specific station is known from context. en station = “a station” (indefinite), used when introducing a new, non-specific station.

Noun forms:

singular indefinite: en station
singular definite: stationen
plural indefinite: stationer
plural definite: stationerna

Are there natural synonyms or rephrasings?

Yes:

Vi anlände samtidigt till stationen. (more formal; anlända = to arrive)
Vi dök upp på stationen samtidigt. (colloquial “showed up”)
Vi kom till stationen på samma gång. (informal; roughly “at the same time”)
With emphasis on entering: Vi gick in på stationen samtidigt.

How do you pronounce the tricky words?

kom: short “o” (like the vowel in British “cot”); not like English “comb.”
samtidigt: stress on the second syllable: sam-TI-digt. The final -gt is usually pronounced with a clear final t, the g is not strongly heard.
stationen: tion is pronounced with the Swedish “sj‑sound,” roughly like “sh” in English: sta-SHOO-nen. So it sounds like “sta-SHOO-nen.”

Is there any nuance difference between Vi kom samtidigt till stationen and Vi kom till stationen samtidigt?

Meaning is the same. The version with samtidigt at the end (Vi kom till stationen samtidigt) is very common in speech. Placing samtidigt earlier can slightly foreground the time adverb, but the difference is minimal.

How would I say it in the present perfect or past perfect?

Present perfect (have arrived): Vi har kommit samtidigt till stationen. Use when the result is relevant now or the exact time isn’t specified.
Past perfect (had arrived): Vi hade kommit samtidigt till stationen. Use to place the arrival before another past event.

In many everyday contexts, the simple past kom is perfectly natural for a finished, time-specific event.

Where do other time expressions go relative to samtidigt?

Swedish allows some flexibility. Common options:

Vi kom till stationen samtidigt i går.
Vi kom till stationen i går samtidigt.
I går kom vi till stationen samtidigt. (fronting the time puts the verb second: kom)

All are acceptable; choose the one that sounds most natural to you and fits your emphasis.

Could I say Vi kom på stationen samtidigt?

Avoid that. komma på in Swedish usually means “to realize/think of” (e.g., Jag kom på det = “I realized/figured it out”). For arriving, use:

Vi kom till stationen samtidigt.
Or with entering: Vi kom in på stationen samtidigt / Vi gick in på stationen samtidigt.

What’s the difference between samtidigt and medan?

samtidigt = at the same time (an adverb). It often modifies a clause without introducing a new one.
medan = while (a subjunction/conjunction). It introduces a subordinate clause describing parallel action.

Examples:

Vi åt samtidigt. = We ate at the same time.
Vi åt medan vi väntade. = We ate while we were waiting.
Similar to English “at the same time as,” Swedish can use samtidigt som: Vi åt samtidigt som vi väntade.