Først når alle har fortolket budskabet, begynder afstemningen.

Først når is a very common Danish combination meaning only when or not until.

So the idea is:

• først = first / only then
• når = when

Together, they express that the main action happens only after the condition in the når-clause has been fulfilled.

So in this sentence, the voting does not begin before everyone has interpreted the message.

That whole part is a subordinate clause placed first for emphasis.

Starting with it highlights the condition:

• Only when everyone has interpreted the message...
• ...does the voting begin

Danish often puts this kind of condition first when the speaker wants to stress it.

A more neutral alternative would be:

Afstemningen begynder først, når alle har fortolket budskabet.

That means nearly the same thing, but the original version emphasizes the condition more strongly.

This is because Danish main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb normally comes in the second position.

Here, the first position is already taken by the opening subordinate clause:

Først når alle har fortolket budskabet = position 1

So the finite verb of the main clause must come next:

begynder = position 2

Then comes the subject:

afstemningen

So:

• Først når alle har fortolket budskabet, begynder afstemningen.

This is standard Danish word order.

Because subordinate clauses in Danish do not use the V2 pattern.

Inside a subordinate clause, the usual order is:

subject + finite verb + rest

So:

• alle = subject
• har = finite verb
• fortolket = past participle

That gives:

alle har fortolket budskabet

If this were an independent main clause, V2 rules would apply differently.

Har fortolket is the present perfect.

It is formed with:

• har
  • past participle

Here:

• har = has/have
• fortolket = interpreted

This tense is used because the interpreting must be completed before the voting begins.

So the timeline is:

1. everyone interprets the message
2. then the voting begins

That is why Danish uses har fortolket rather than just a simple present form.

In Danish, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun.

So:

• et budskab = a message
• budskabet = the message

and

• en afstemning = a vote / voting
• afstemningen = the vote / the voting

The endings depend on the gender of the noun:

• -et for many neuter nouns
• -en for many common-gender nouns

So:

• budskab is a neuter noun: et budskab → budskabet
• afstemning is a common-gender noun: en afstemning → afstemningen

No. In modern Danish, verbs do not change form depending on the subject.

So the same verb form is used with:

• jeg har
• du har
• han har
• vi har
• alle har

This is much simpler than English, where you have forms like I have but he has.

So even though alle refers to more than one person, the verb is still just har.

Fortolket is the past participle of fortolke, which means to interpret.

So:

• fortolke = to interpret
• fortolket = interpreted

In har fortolket, it works together with har to form the present perfect.

Yes, in standard written Danish, the comma here is normal and expected.

It separates the opening subordinate clause from the main clause:

• Først når alle har fortolket budskabet, begynder afstemningen.

So the comma marks the boundary between:

• the condition
• the main statement

This makes the sentence easier to read and is standard punctuation in Danish.

On its own, når often just means when. But with først, the meaning becomes stronger.

So here, først når is not just a neutral when. It means something like:

• only when
• not until

That stronger meaning is important, because the sentence says the voting must wait until everyone has interpreted the message.