Lykken er vigtig.

Lykke is the basic dictionary form, meaning happiness or luck depending on context.

Lykken is the definite singular form:

• lykke = happiness
• lykken = the happiness

In Danish, abstract nouns are often used in the definite form where English would just say happiness in a general sense. So Lykken er vigtig is very natural Danish, even though a word-for-word translation looks like The happiness is important.

Because Danish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun as a suffix.

So instead of:

• English: the happiness

Danish uses:

• lykken

This -en ending is the definite article for many common-gender nouns.

You can tell from the definite ending:

• common gender: often takes -en in the definite singular
• neuter gender: often takes -et in the definite singular

So:

• lykke → lykken = common gender
• if it were neuter, you would expect something like -et instead

That matters because adjectives can agree differently with common and neuter nouns.

Er means is / am / are.

It is the present tense of at være = to be.

A useful thing for English speakers: Danish does not change the present tense form depending on the subject.

So you get:

• jeg er = I am
• du er = you are
• han er = he is
• de er = they are

It is always er in the present tense.

Because lykken is singular common gender, and the adjective is in predicate position after er.

In Danish, predicate adjectives usually agree like this:

• common gender singular: vigtig
• neuter singular: vigtigt
• plural: vigtige

So:

• Lykken er vigtig. = Happiness is important.
• Barnet er vigtigt. = The child is important.
• Tingene er vigtige. = The things are important.

Because vigtig is a predicate adjective, not an adjective directly placed before the noun.

Compare:

• den vigtige lykke = the important happiness

  • here the adjective comes before the noun, so definite forms affect it

• Lykken er vigtig = Happiness is important

  • here the adjective comes after er, so it agrees only for gender/number, not for definiteness in the same way

So after er, vigtig is correct.

It is a very basic Danish sentence:

• Lykken = subject
• er = verb
• vigtig = subject complement / predicate adjective

So the pattern is:

Subject + verb + adjective

This is the same basic order as in English:

• Happiness is important.

Yes, but in ordinary neutral statements, Lykken er vigtig is the normal order.

Danish is a V2 language, which means the finite verb usually stays in the second position in main clauses.

For example:

• I dag er lykken vigtig. = Today, happiness is important.

Here I dag comes first, so er still stays in second position.

But the simple sentence Lykken er vigtig is the standard beginner pattern.

It can mean either, depending on context.

The noun lykke can refer to:

• happiness
• good fortune
• luck

So lykken could mean:

• the happiness
• the luck
• good fortune

In your sentence, the intended meaning is already given, so you should follow that meaning. But it is good to know that the Danish word has a wider range than a single English word.

Because vigtig is not directly attached to the noun here. It comes after er, so it is describing the subject through the verb to be.

Compare:

• Lykken er vigtig.
  = Happiness is important.

  • adjective after er

• en vigtig ting
  = an important thing

  • adjective directly before the noun

So this is not unusual word order; it is just how predicate adjectives work.

In this sentence, Lykken er vigtig is the more natural choice.

Danish often uses the definite form with broad ideas and abstract concepts, especially in statements like this:

• Livet er kort. = Life is short.
• Kærligheden er blind. = Love is blind.
• Lykken er vigtig. = Happiness is important.

So even though English often uses no article in these general statements, Danish frequently prefers the definite form.