Achter dat icoon zit een venster waarin je meldingen kunt lezen.

Dutch often puts a place expression first when that is the topic of the sentence. Here, Achter dat icoon means behind that icon or more naturally in a software context under/behind that icon.

Because that element comes first, the verb must still stay in the second position in the main clause. That is why you get:

Achter dat icoon zit een venster ...

and not Achter dat icoon een venster zit.

This is a very common Dutch word order pattern:

• Op tafel ligt een boek.
• In de tuin staat een boom.

Dutch often uses zitten, staan, and liggen where English would simply use is.

So Achter dat icoon zit een venster literally looks like Behind that icon sits a window, but idiomatically it just means There is a window behind that icon.

Using zitten here gives the idea that something is located somewhere, often a little bit hidden inside, behind, or contained in something.

You will hear this a lot in Dutch:

• Er zit suiker in de koffie. = There is sugar in the coffee.
• Er zit een fout in het document. = There is a mistake in the document.
• Er zit een knop op het scherm. = There is a button on the screen.

Because icoon is a het-word in Dutch: het icoon.

For singular nouns:

• de-words take die
• het-words take dat

So:

• de tafel → die tafel
• het icoon → dat icoon

That is why dat icoon is correct.

Een venster means a window, so it introduces the window as new information.

If you said het venster, that would usually mean the window, as if the listener already knows which window you mean.

So in this sentence, een venster is natural because the speaker is saying that there is some window there, not referring back to one already mentioned.

Waarin means in which.

It is made up of:

• waar
• in

Dutch often combines a preposition with waar- when referring back to a thing, idea, or place.

So:

• waarin = in which
• waarop = on which
• waarmee = with which
• waarover = about which

In this sentence:

een venster waarin je meldingen kunt lezen

= a window in which you can read notifications

In normal Dutch, waar + preposition is the usual way to refer back to a thing.

So instead of saying something like:

• een venster in dat je ... → incorrect
• een venster in hetwelk je ... → very formal or old-fashioned

Dutch normally says:

• een venster waarin je ...

This is the standard, natural form in everyday language.

Because je is the subject of the clause: you.

The subordinate clause is:

waarin je meldingen kunt lezen

Its basic structure is:

• je = subject
• meldingen = object
• kunt lezen = verb group

So literally:

• in which you notifications can read

That may feel strange from an English perspective, but it is normal Dutch word order.

Because in a subordinate clause, Dutch pushes the verbs to the end.

The clause waarin je meldingen kunt lezen is subordinate because it is introduced by waarin.

So the word order is:

• waarin
  • subject + object + verbs at the end

That gives:

• waarin je meldingen kunt lezen

Compare:

Main clause:

• Je kunt meldingen lezen.

Subordinate clause:

• ... waarin je meldingen kunt lezen.

This is one of the most important Dutch word order patterns to learn.

Yes. With je, both kunt and kan are possible in many situations.

So both of these can occur:

• je kunt
• je kan

In standard Dutch, je kunt is often preferred in careful writing, but je kan is also very common in speech and informal language.

So:

• waarin je meldingen kunt lezen
• waarin je meldingen kan lezen

Both are understandable and normal.

Meldingen means notifications.

The singular is melding.

In digital contexts, melding often means:

• a notification
• an alert
• a system message

So in this sentence, it most likely refers to app, system, or website notifications.

It is a little different from berichten, which usually means messages. A bericht is more like a message someone sends; a melding is more like something the system shows you.

Not necessarily. In a digital context, it often means something like:

• behind that icon
• under that icon
• accessible by clicking that icon

So it can be metaphorical rather than physical. Dutch uses spatial language this way quite naturally in software and interface descriptions.

Yes, that is also possible.

Compare:

• Achter dat icoon zit een venster ...
• Er zit een venster achter dat icoon ...

The meaning is basically the same, but the focus changes a little.

• Achter dat icoon ... puts the location first and makes it the topic.
• Er zit een venster ... is a more neutral there is structure.

Both are natural Dutch.

Yes. Venster can mean a literal window, but it is also the normal Dutch word for a window on a computer screen.

So here it almost certainly means a software window, pop-up, or panel.

Depending on context, Dutch speakers might also use English-influenced words in tech contexts, but venster is completely standard.

Yes:

• Achter dat icoon = behind that icon
• zit = is located / sits
• een venster = a window
• waarin = in which
• je = you
• meldingen = notifications
• kunt lezen = can read

So the structure is:

[Location] + [verb] + [thing] + [relative clause]

A very literal version would be:

Behind that icon sits a window in which you can read notifications.

A more natural English rendering is:

Behind that icon is a window where you can read notifications.