How to declare a string array in Kotlin, like String[] in Java? Looking for an analog

Hello everyone! I just started learning Kotlin after Java and encountered a simple but unexpected problem.

In Java I used to write:

String[] names = new String[]{"Alice", "Bob", "Charlie"};

Or, if the array is empty:

String[] names = new String[10];

Now I'm trying to do the same in Kotlin. I tried several options, but none work or give compilation errors:

// Option 1: Just copied Java syntax\nvar names: String[] = arrayOf("Alice", "Bob") // Error: "String[] is not a type"\n\n// Option 2: Tried via Array\nvar names: Array<String> = ["Alice", "Bob"] // Error: "Type mismatch"\n\n// Option 3: Creating an empty array\nvar names = new String[10] //