Min søn løber hen til gyngen, så snart vi kommer til legepladsen.

Because søn is a common-gender noun in Danish: en søn.

For possessives:

• min is used with common-gender singular nouns
• mit is used with neuter singular nouns
• mine is used with plural nouns

So:

• min søn = my son
• mit barn = my child
• mine børn = my children

Yes. Løber is the present tense of at løbe = to run.

In this sentence, the present tense is used for something that happens regularly or typically, not just right now. Danish often uses the present tense this way, just like English can:

• My son runs to the swing as soon as we get to the playground.

So løber here suggests a repeated habit or a typical sequence of events.

Hen til adds a sense of movement over toward something.

So:

• løber til gyngen = runs to the swing
• løber hen til gyngen = runs over to the swing / runs up to the swing

The word hen often gives the motion a more physical, directional feel. In everyday Danish, hen til is very common when someone moves toward a specific person or object.

Because gyngen is the definite form: the swing.

• en gynge = a swing
• gyngen = the swing

In this sentence, the swing is understood as a specific one — probably the swing at the playground they usually go to, or the swing that is relevant in the situation.

Danish often uses the definite form where English also uses the.

Så snart means as soon as.

It introduces a clause that tells you when something happens:

• så snart vi kommer til legepladsen = as soon as we get to the playground

It is a very common conjunction in Danish.

Examples:

• Ring til mig, så snart du er hjemme. = Call me as soon as you are home.
• Jeg spiser, så snart jeg kommer hjem. = I eat as soon as I get home.

Because så snart introduces a subordinate clause.

In Danish subordinate clauses, the normal order is generally:

• conjunction + subject + verb

So:

• så snart vi kommer til legepladsen

and not:

• så snart kommer vi til legepladsen

The version with kommer vi would look like main-clause word order, which is not what Danish normally uses after så snart.

Here kommer til legepladsen means arrive at / get to the playground.

• til is used for movement toward a destination
• på legepladsen would mean at/on the playground, focusing on location rather than arrival

So:

• vi kommer til legepladsen = we get to the playground
• vi er på legepladsen = we are at the playground

This is a very common Danish distinction:

• gå til skolen = go to the school
• være på skolen = be at the school

Because the sentence refers to the playground, not just a playground.

• en legeplads = a playground
• legepladsen = the playground

Using the definite form suggests that the speaker and listener both know which playground is meant, or that it is the relevant playground in the situation.

Because så snart vi kommer til legepladsen is a subordinate clause.

In Danish, commas are often used to separate a main clause from a subordinate clause. So the comma here marks the boundary between:

• Min søn løber hen til gyngen
• så snart vi kommer til legepladsen

A useful note: Danish comma conventions can vary somewhat depending on the comma system being used, so you may sometimes see sentences like this with or without that comma. But the comma here is completely normal.

Most naturally, it sounds habitual: this is what the son usually does whenever they arrive at the playground.

So the sense is:

• My son runs over to the swing as soon as we get to the playground.

But depending on context, present tense in Danish can also refer to the near future. Still, without extra context, this sentence is most likely describing a repeated pattern.

Not exactly, even though both contain til.

• hen til describes movement toward something
• komme til here means arrive at / get to a place

So in this sentence:

• løber hen til gyngen = runs over to the swing
• kommer til legepladsen = arrive at the playground

The preposition til appears in both, but the full expressions work differently.

Yes, it can be tricky for English speakers.

Gyngen is roughly:

• gyn- with a front rounded vowel, something like German ü
• -gen with a soft final syllable

A rough learner-friendly approximation might be:

• GÜNG-en

But that is only approximate. The hard part is the vowel in gyn-, because English does not really have that exact sound.

Also note:

• gynge = swing
• gyngen = the swing

So -n at the end marks the definite form.

Yes, in many contexts you could.

• løber hen til gyngen
• løber over til gyngen

Both can mean something like runs over to the swing.

The difference is often subtle:

• hen til strongly highlights movement toward a target
• over til can suggest movement from one place over to another place

In this sentence, hen til sounds very natural. Over til could also work, depending on the situation.