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Die Ordnung ist ihm wichtig.

Die Ordnung ist ihm wichtig.
Tidiness is important to him.
From Lesson 49:Everyday replies·German

Questions & Answers about Die Ordnung ist ihm wichtig.

Why does the sentence start with Die Ordnung instead of just Ordnung?
In English, we leave out the word 'the' when talking about general concepts like 'tidiness' or 'love'. In German, general concepts and abstract nouns usually need their definite article, which is why we use Die here.
Why is the word ihm used here instead of er or ihn?
ihm is the dative form of er (he). In German, to express that something is important to someone, you use the dative case. You can think of it as literally saying 'The tidiness is to him important.'
Can I translate 'to him' using the word für?
Yes, you can! It is also perfectly correct to say Die Ordnung ist wichtig für ihn. Both versions mean the exact same thing, but using the short dative pronoun (ihm) without a preposition is very common in everyday German.

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