Hensynet til børnene er vigtigere end vores planer i aften.

Because hensynet is the definite singular form of the noun hensyn.

• et hensyn = a consideration / a concern
• hensynet = the consideration / the concern

In this sentence, Danish is talking about a specific consideration: the consideration for the children. That is why the definite form is used.

This is very common in Danish when a noun is followed by a phrase that specifies it:

• hensynet til børnene = the consideration for the children

So hensynet here is not just any abstract idea; it is that particular concern.

Hensyn til is a very common fixed expression in Danish. It means:

• consideration for
• regard for
• concern for

So:

• hensynet til børnene = consideration for the children

You should learn hensyn til as a chunk, because Danish often uses this preposition with hensyn.

A few examples:

• Vi må tage hensyn til naboerne. = We must take the neighbors into consideration.
• Hun viser hensyn til andre. = She shows consideration for others.

So the til is not random; it belongs naturally with hensyn in this meaning.

Børnene is the definite plural form of børn.

• børn = children
• børnene = the children

Danish uses the definite form here because it refers to specific children, not children in general.

So:

• hensyn til børn would sound more general: consideration for children
• hensynet til børnene means consideration for the children, probably children already known from the context

This is one of the main things English speakers need to get used to: Danish often marks definiteness directly on the noun.

Because Danish usually puts definiteness on the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

Compare:

• barn = child
• barnet = the child
• børn = children
• børnene = the children

So English says the children, but Danish usually says børnene as one word.

The same thing happens with hensynet:

• et hensyn = a consideration
• hensynet = the consideration

This is one of the biggest structural differences between English and Danish.

Vigtigere is the comparative form of vigtig.

• vigtig = important
• vigtigere = more important
• vigtigst = most important

So Danish often forms the comparative by adding -ere, instead of using a separate word like English more.

In this sentence:

• er vigtigere end = is more important than

A few similar examples:

• stor → større = big → bigger
• billig → billigere = cheap → cheaper
• vigtig → vigtigere = important → more important

So vigtigere is a normal comparative adjective.

End means than after a comparison.

So:

• vigtigere end = more important than

This is the normal Danish word used after comparatives:

• større end = bigger than
• bedre end = better than
• dyrere end = more expensive than

In your sentence:

• Hensynet til børnene er vigtigere end vores planer i aften.
• The concern for the children is more important than our plans tonight.

So if you see a comparative form like vigtigere, end is often the next thing to expect.

Because Danish possessives usually replace the article, just like in English.

• planer = plans
• vores planer = our plans

You do not normally say a separate definite article before a possessive. So:

• vores planer = our plans
• not de vores planer

This is similar to English:

• our plans
• not the our plans

So that part is quite straightforward for English speakers.

I aften means tonight or this evening.

In this sentence, it most naturally goes with vores planer:

• vores planer i aften = our plans tonight / our plans for tonight

So the comparison is between:

• hensynet til børnene and
• vores planer i aften

In other words, the sentence is saying that the children-related concern matters more than the plans we have for tonight.

Danish often places time expressions like i aften, i morgen, i dag quite flexibly, but here its position makes it sound like it belongs especially with planer.

The structure is:

• Hensynet til børnene = subject
• er = verb
• vigtigere = predicate adjective / complement
• end vores planer i aften = comparison phrase

So the sentence follows a very normal Danish pattern:

• Subject + verb + complement

That makes it similar to English:

• The consideration for the children + is + more important + than our plans tonight

Nothing unusual is happening with the word order here.

Yes. Even if the literal meaning is clear, English might often phrase it a bit differently.

A very close translation is:

• Consideration for the children is more important than our plans tonight.

But more natural English could also be:

• The children’s needs are more important than our plans tonight.
• We need to put the children first tonight.
• Concern for the children matters more than our plans tonight.

This is useful to know because hensyn often has a wider meaning than a single direct English word can capture. Depending on context, it may suggest:

• consideration
• concern
• regard
• what is best for someone

So the Danish is straightforward, but the best English wording can vary a little.

These can be tricky for English speakers.

A rough guide:

• hensynet sounds approximately like HEN-soo-nehth or HEN-sy-nehd, depending on accent and how detailed you want to be
• børnene is harder because of ø. Very roughly, it sounds a bit like BUR-nuh-nuh, but with a vowel that is not the normal English ur

A more accurate idea:

• ø is a rounded front vowel, which English does not really have
• y in hensynet is also a front rounded vowel, also unfamiliar to many English speakers

The best strategy is:

1. listen to native audio,
2. repeat slowly,
3. focus especially on ø and y,
4. do not expect exact English equivalents.

So pronunciation is not obvious from spelling here, especially in børnene.