Meld het en verpak daarna de retourzending.

Meld is the imperative form of the verb melden, which means to report, to notify, or to register.

So:

• melden = the infinitive, to report
• meld! = the command form, report!

In this sentence, Meld het means Report it or Notify them about it.

Dutch imperatives are often made by using the basic verb stem:

• melden → meld
• verpakken → verpak

So both verbs in the sentence are commands.

Het here means it.

So Meld het literally means Report it.

This is a very common Dutch object pronoun. It refers to something already known from context, such as a problem, a return, a defect, or a request.

Examples:

• Ik zie het. = I see it.
• Doe het nu. = Do it now.
• Meld het. = Report it.

Even though het is also the Dutch word for the with neuter nouns, here it is clearly a pronoun, not an article.

Both are possible in Dutch, but they are not always used in exactly the same way.

• verpakken = to package, to wrap, to pack
• inpakken = to pack up, to wrap up

In instructions about shipping or returns, verpakken often sounds a bit more formal or practical, especially in written instructions.

So:

• Verpak daarna de retourzending. = Then package the return shipment.
• Pak daarna de retourzending in. = also possible, and very natural in everyday Dutch

A learner should also notice the grammar difference:

• verpakken is one verb, so the imperative is verpak
• inpakken is a separable verb, so the imperative is usually pak ... in

Daarna means after that or then.

In this sentence, it shows the order of actions:

1. Meld het = report it
2. verpak daarna de retourzending = then package the return shipment

Its position is very normal here. Dutch adverbs like daarna can often move around depending on emphasis, but this placement is natural in instructions.

Compare:

• Verpak daarna de retourzending.
• Verpak de retourzending daarna.

Both are possible, though the first sounds more natural in a simple instruction sequence.

Retourzending means return shipment or returned parcel/package.

It is a compound noun:

• retour = return
• zending = shipment, consignment, dispatch

So literally it is something like return-shipment.

In practical English, depending on context, it might be translated as:

• the return
• the returned package
• the parcel you are sending back
• the return shipment

Dutch uses compound nouns very often, so this is a useful pattern to notice.

In Dutch, every noun has a grammatical gender category that determines whether it takes de or het.

Retourzending takes de, so it is a de-word:

• de retourzending

This is something learners usually just have to memorize along with the noun.

A useful clue here is that many nouns ending in -ing are de-words:

• de bestelling = the order
• de verpakking = the packaging
• de zending = the shipment
• de retourzending = the return shipment

So the ending -ing is a helpful signal.

Dutch often leaves out you in commands, just like English does.

Compare:

• Report it and then package the return shipment.
• Meld het en verpak daarna de retourzending.

In both languages, the subject you is understood.

If you wanted to include you, Dutch can do that for emphasis, but it is not necessary:

• Meld jij het... would not be a normal command
• For a regular instruction, just use the imperative: Meld het

So the sentence sounds direct and natural as written.

It is fairly neutral and typical of written instructions.

Imperatives in Dutch can sound:

• direct in conversation
• perfectly normal in manuals, websites, apps, and return instructions

So this sentence is not rude by itself. In a customer-service or instruction context, it sounds standard.

If someone wanted to sound softer or more polite, Dutch might use something like:

• Meld het eerst en verpak daarna de retourzending.
• Gelieve het te melden en daarna de retourzending te verpakken. (more formal, less common in everyday speech)

But the original sentence is very normal for practical instructions.

Both are possible, but they give slightly different rhythm or emphasis.

Dutch word order with adverbs is often flexible. In a basic instruction, daarna often comes before the object:

• Verpak daarna de retourzending.

This feels smooth because daarna connects the action clearly to the previous step.

If you say:

• Verpak de retourzending daarna.

it is still grammatical, but daarna gets a bit more emphasis, almost like package the return shipment after that.

So the original version is just the most natural instructional order.

In theory, melden can sometimes be translated in different ways depending on context, including announce, mention, report, or notify. But in this sentence, report it or notify them about it is much more likely.

That is because the second half talks about the return shipment, so the full sentence sounds like return-process instructions:

• first report/register the return
• then package the returned item

So in context, announce it would sound unnatural in English, even if melden can be broader in other situations.

En simply means and, but in this sentence the sequence is made clear by daarna.

So:

• en = and
• daarna = after that / then

Together they give the sense:

• Report it, and then package the return shipment.

Without daarna, the sentence would still connect the two actions, but the order would be less explicit:

• Meld het en verpak de retourzending.

That would still probably be understood as a sequence, but daarna makes it completely clear.

Yes, but not usually in this exact imperative style.

Dutch has polite u, but direct commands often do not include it. In customer-facing writing, Dutch frequently uses plain imperatives anyway:

• Meld het en verpak daarna de retourzending.

That is common on websites and instruction pages.

If you want a more explicitly polite version, you might see:

• Meld het bij ons en verpak daarna de retourzending.
• U kunt het melden en daarna de retourzending verpakken.
• Gelieve het te melden en daarna de retourzending te verpakken. (formal)

So yes, politeness can be added, but the original sentence is already normal for instructions.