De bezorger meldde vertraging.

Bezorger is a de-word in Dutch, so the definite article is de.

• de bezorger = the delivery person / courier
• You have to learn whether a noun takes de or het
• For people and professions, de is very common

So de bezorger is the correct form.

Bezorger means someone who delivers things: a delivery person, courier, or delivery driver, depending on context.

It comes from the verb bezorgen, which can mean to deliver.

So:

• de bezorger = the person doing the delivery
• bezorgen = to deliver

Meldde is the simple past of melden.

• melden = to report, to notify, to announce
• ik meld
• hij/zij meldde = he/she reported

So De bezorger meldde vertraging is in the past: the delivery person reported a delay.

This is due to Dutch past-tense spelling.

The verb is melden. Its stem is meld-.
For weak verbs, Dutch adds a past ending:

• singular: -de or -te
• plural: -den or -ten

Since the stem already ends in d, adding -de gives:

• meld + de = meldde

So the double d is normal and correct.

In Dutch, abstract nouns like vertraging can often appear without an article, especially in short, formal, or report-like sentences.

So:

• De bezorger meldde vertraging. = The delivery person reported delay / reported a delay.
• De bezorger meldde een vertraging. = also possible, and a bit more explicitly a delay

Without een, the sentence sounds a little more concise, matter-of-fact, or official.

Yes, absolutely.

Both are possible:

• De bezorger meldde vertraging.
• De bezorger meldde een vertraging.

The version without een is a bit more compact and sounds more like a status update or report.
The version with een may feel slightly more concrete: reported a delay.

Not exactly. Melden is closer to:

• to report
• to notify
• to inform
• sometimes to announce

It sounds more formal or factual than just say.

So in this sentence, meldde suggests that the delivery person officially informed someone or reported that there was a delay.

This is normal main-clause word order in Dutch:

• De bezorger = subject
• meldde = verb
• vertraging = object / what was reported

So the pattern is:

Subject + Verb + Object

That is very common in straightforward Dutch statements.

In Dutch main clauses, the conjugated verb usually stays in the second position.

For example:

• De bezorger meldde vertraging.
• Gisteren meldde de bezorger vertraging.

When Gisteren comes first, the verb meldde still stays second, so the subject moves after it.

This is a very important Dutch pattern called inversion.

Here, vertraging is a noun.

• vertraging = delay

It is not the same form as English late.
If you wanted to say someone is late, Dutch would use something like:

• te laat = too late / late
• vertraagd = delayed

But in this sentence, vertraging is the thing being reported: a delay.

Yes. A very common alternative would be:

• De bezorger heeft vertraging gemeld.

Dutch often uses the present perfect in everyday speech where English might also use a past form. But the simple past (meldde) is also completely correct.

Very roughly:

• meldde can sound a bit more narrative, written, or report-like
• heeft gemeld can sound more conversational or connected to the present situation

Yes, it is natural, especially in a brief, factual context such as:

• a delivery update
• a logistics message
• a news-like report
• a status notification

Because it is short and compact, it sounds a little formal or efficient. In everyday speech, people might also say something longer, depending on context, such as:

• De bezorger heeft gemeld dat hij vertraging heeft.
• De bezorger zei dat er vertraging is.

But the original sentence is definitely good Dutch.