Min datter er allerede vågen, når jeg stadig prøver at vågne helt.

In Danish, when you use a possessive like min (my), you normally do not add the definite ending to the noun.

So:

• min datter = my daughter
• datteren = the daughter

You usually do one or the other, not both.

So min datter is correct, while min datteren would normally be wrong.

The form of the possessive depends on the noun:

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

Datter is a common gender singular noun, so:

• min datter = correct

Compare:

• min bil = my car
• mit barn = my child
• mine børn = my children

Because vågen is an adjective meaning awake.

So:

• er vågen = is awake

This describes a state, not an action.

Compare:

• Hun er vågen = She is awake
• Hun vågner = She wakes up / is waking up

In your sentence, the daughter is already in the state of being awake, so er vågen is the natural choice.

This is an important distinction:

• vågen = awake (adjective)
• vågne = to wake up (verb, infinitive)

So in the sentence:

• er allerede vågen = is already awake
• prøver at vågne helt = am still trying to wake up fully

English uses forms that look quite different, but Danish has these two very similar-looking words, so learners often confuse them.

Because they express two different ideas:

• Min datter er allerede vågen describes her condition: she is already awake.
• jeg stadig prøver at vågne helt describes an ongoing process: I am still trying to wake up completely.

So the sentence contrasts:

• her finished state with
• my unfinished process

That contrast is one of the main ideas of the sentence.

Allerede means already.

It shows that something has happened earlier than expected or earlier than something else in the sentence.

So:

• Min datter er allerede vågen = My daughter is already awake

The feeling is that the daughter has reached that state before the speaker has.

In a normal main clause, Danish usually keeps the finite verb in second position, and adverbs like allerede often come after that verb.

So:

• Min datter = subject
• er = finite verb
• allerede = adverb
• vågen = complement

This is very natural Danish word order.

Compare:

• Jeg er allerede træt = I am already tired
• Hun har allerede spist = She has already eaten

Here når means when.

In this sentence, it introduces the time situation in which the main clause happens:

• Min datter er allerede vågen, når jeg stadig prøver at vågne helt.

The idea is roughly:

• My daughter is already awake when I am still trying to wake up fully.

In many contexts, når can also have the sense of whenever, especially for repeated or general situations.

This is a very common learner question.

A simple rule is:

• når is used for something habitual, repeated, general, or referring to the future
• da is often used for a specific event in the past

This sentence sounds like a general pattern or recurring situation, so når is the right choice.

Compare:

• Når jeg står op, er hun allerede vågen.
  = Whenever I get up, she is already awake.

• Da jeg stod op i morges, var hun allerede vågen.
  = When I got up this morning, she was already awake.

Because når jeg stadig prøver at vågne helt is a subordinate clause, and Danish word order changes in subordinate clauses.

In a main clause, you often get:

• Jeg prøver stadig at vågne helt.

But in a subordinate clause after når, adverbs like stadig often come before the finite verb:

• når jeg stadig prøver at vågne helt

So this is a classic difference between:

• main clause: jeg prøver stadig
• subordinate clause: jeg stadig prøver

Stadig is an adverb. Here it means still.

So:

• jeg stadig prøver = I am still trying

It shows that the action is continuing and not finished yet.

Compare:

• Jeg er stadig træt. = I am still tired.
• Han arbejder stadig. = He is still working.

In your sentence, it emphasizes that the speaker is not fully awake yet.

Because prøve is commonly followed by at + infinitive when it means try to do something.

So:

• prøve at vågne = try to wake up
• prøve at sove = try to sleep
• prøve at forstå = try to understand

This is a very common pattern in Danish.

Helt literally means completely, entirely, or fully.

So:

• vågne helt = wake up fully
• more naturally in English: be fully awake

It adds the idea that the speaker is not just barely awake, but is trying to become completely alert.

Because vågne fits the meaning better than være vågen here.

• vågne = to wake up, to become awake
• være vågen = to be awake

The speaker is describing a process of getting fully awake, not simply existing in the awake state.

So:

• prøver at vågne helt = trying to wake up fully

is much more natural than trying to say trying to be awake completely.

Danish often uses the present tense for situations that are habitual, typical, or true right now.

So this sentence suggests a recurring pattern:

• My daughter is already awake
• while I am still trying to wake up

It could describe everyday life, not just one single moment.

If it were about one specific past moment, Danish would likely use past tense forms instead.

Because når jeg stadig prøver at vågne helt is a subordinate clause, and in standard Danish writing, subordinate clauses are separated with a comma.

So the comma helps show the sentence structure:

• main clause: Min datter er allerede vågen
• subordinate clause: når jeg stadig prøver at vågne helt

This comma is normal and expected in written Danish.

Yes. You could say:

• Når jeg stadig prøver at vågne helt, er min datter allerede vågen.

That is also correct.

When the subordinate clause comes first, the main clause keeps the Danish verb-second pattern, so you get:

• ..., er min datter ...

not:

• ..., min datter er ...

So that version is grammatical too, just with different emphasis.

It is not a completely fixed idiom, but it is a very natural combination.

It means something like:

• become fully awake
• wake up properly
• wake up completely

Danish often uses helt with adjectives and verbs to strengthen the idea of completeness.

For example:

• ikke helt færdig = not completely finished
• forstå helt = understand fully
• vågne helt = wake up fully

It has two parts:

1. Main clause:
   Min datter er allerede vågen
   = My daughter is already awake

2. Subordinate clause introduced by når:
   når jeg stadig prøver at vågne helt
   = when I am still trying to wake up fully

So the full sentence compares two simultaneous situations:

• the daughter is already fully awake
• the speaker is not there yet

That contrast is what gives the sentence its natural meaning and tone.