Kortom, iedereen is tevreden.

In short, everyone is satisfied.

Breakdown of Kortom, iedereen is tevreden.

• zijn: to be
• iedereen: everyone
• tevreden: satisfied
• kortom: in short

Questions & Answers about Kortom, iedereen is tevreden.

Why is there a comma after Kortom? Could I leave it out?

Kortom is a discourse marker, like English in short or to sum up. When it comes at the start of a sentence, Dutch normally separates it from the rest of the sentence with a comma:

• Kortom, iedereen is tevreden.

You may see the comma dropped in very informal writing (texts, comments), but the standard and most natural spelling in normal writing includes the comma.
So: keep the comma in almost all cases.

Does Kortom always have to be at the beginning of the sentence?

No. Kortom can appear in a few positions:

1. At the beginning (most common):

   • Kortom, iedereen is tevreden.
     (In short, everyone is satisfied.)

2. In the middle, after a statement, before the conclusion:

   • Iedereen heeft gekregen wat hij wilde; kortom, iedereen is tevreden.

3. At the end (less formal, more spoken style):

   • Iedereen is tevreden, kortom.

All three are grammatical. The sentence you gave is the most typical: Kortom, … at the start.

Why is it iedereen is instead of iedereen zijn?