Jeg kan ikke lade være med at kigge på solopgangen, når lyset rammer søen.

It is a very common Danish expression meaning cannot help doing something.

So:

• Jeg kan ikke lade være med at kigge ... = I can’t help looking ...

Literally, the parts look something like:

• kan = can
• ikke = not
• lade være = leave it alone / refrain
• med at = from doing / to do, as part of this fixed expression

But it is best to learn ikke kunne lade være med at + infinitive as one unit:

• Jeg kan ikke lade være med at smile = I can’t help smiling
• Han kunne ikke lade være med at grine = He couldn’t help laughing

Because kan is a modal verb, and modal verbs are followed by another verb in the infinitive.

Here:

• kan = can
• kigge = to look

So:

• Jeg kan kigge = I can look

In your sentence, that infinitive is part of the larger expression:

• Jeg kan ikke lade være med at kigge ...

Notice that after a modal verb in Danish, the main verb usually stays in the infinitive form, not a present-tense form. So kigge is correct, not kigger.

In this expression, med at is just part of the fixed pattern.

The full pattern is:

• lade være med at + infinitive
• ikke kunne lade være med at + infinitive

Examples:

• Lad være med at råbe = Don’t shout
• Hun kan ikke lade være med at synge = She can’t help singing

So in your sentence:

• lade være med at kigge = refrain from looking / help looking

Even though the literal wording may feel strange to an English speaker, this is simply how the idiom is built in Danish.

This is a very common learner question.

kigge på

Usually means look at, often with the idea of directing your eyes toward something.

• Jeg kigger på søen = I am looking at the lake

se

Usually means see, or sometimes watch, depending on context.

• Jeg ser søen = I see the lake
• Jeg ser fjernsyn = I watch TV

se på

Often also means look at, and in many contexts overlaps with kigge på.

• Se på mig = Look at me

In your sentence, kigge på solopgangen sounds natural because it emphasizes the act of looking at the sunrise.

Because kigge normally takes the preposition på when you say what you are looking at.

So:

• kigge på noget = look at something

Examples:

• kigge på himlen = look at the sky
• kigge på fuglene = look at the birds

So:

• kigge på solopgangen = look at the sunrise

Without på, it would sound wrong in standard Danish.

Solopgangen is the definite form, meaning the sunrise.

Danish often uses the definite form where English would also use the:

• en solopgang = a sunrise
• solopgangen = the sunrise

The definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun in Danish:

• en sø = a lake

• søen = the lake

• en solopgang = a sunrise
• solopgangen = the sunrise

In your sentence, the speaker is talking about a specific scene or the sunrise in general as a known event, so the definite form sounds natural.

Here, når means when.

In this sentence it introduces something that happens regularly or whenever the situation occurs:

• når lyset rammer søen = when the light hits the lake

når

Used for:

• repeated situations
• general truths
• present/future situations

da

Usually used for:

• a specific event in the past
• when in the sense of at the time that

Example:

• Da solen stod op, gik vi ud = When the sun rose, we went outside

hvis

Means if, not when

Example:

• Hvis lyset rammer søen, bliver den smuk = If the light hits the lake, it becomes beautiful

So når is the right choice here because it describes a recurring moment: whenever the light hits the lake.

Because the sentence describes something habitual, general, or vividly present.

• lyset rammer søen = the light hits the lake

Danish often uses the present tense for:

• general truths
• repeated actions
• vivid descriptions

So the sentence suggests something like:

• Whenever the light hits the lake, I can’t help looking at the sunrise

It is not necessarily happening only right now. It can describe a regular experience.

Because når lyset rammer søen is a subordinate clause, and Danish word order is different in subordinate clauses.

Main clause

Danish usually has verb-second word order:

• Jeg kan ikke lade være ...

The finite verb kan comes early in the sentence.

Subordinate clause

After words like når, at, fordi, hvis, the clause usually follows a more straightforward order:

• når lyset rammer søen
• subject: lyset
• verb: rammer
• object: søen

So this is normal subordinate-clause word order.

In a main clause, Danish usually places ikke after the finite verb and often after the subject-verb core.

So:

• Jeg kan ikke ... = I cannot ...
• Han kommer ikke = He is not coming

In your sentence, kan is the finite verb, so ikke naturally follows it:

• Jeg kan ikke lade være ...

This placement is very typical in Danish main clauses.

Yes. That is a very natural literal reading.

• lyset = the light
• rammer = hits / strikes / reaches
• søen = the lake

In English, hits may sound a bit strong in some contexts, but in Danish ramme is often used naturally for light, rain, wind, and so on.

So this part could be understood as:

• when the light hits the lake
• when the light falls on the lake

Depending on the translation style, either can work.

Yes. Solopgang is a compound noun, which is extremely common in Danish.

It is made from:

• sol = sun
• opgang = rise / ascent

Together:

• solopgang = sunrise

Danish forms many nouns this way. A few similar examples:

• solnedgang = sunset
• morgenlys = morning light
• søbred = lakeshore

Learning to recognize compounds makes Danish vocabulary much easier.

Because når lyset rammer søen is a subordinate clause.

In Danish, subordinate clauses are often set off with a comma, especially in more traditional comma usage. In modern Danish writing, comma rules can vary slightly depending on the system being followed, but a comma here is very normal and easy to recognize.

So the comma helps show the structure:

• Main clause: Jeg kan ikke lade være med at kigge på solopgangen
• Subordinate clause: når lyset rammer søen

Yes, you could, and it would still make sense.

• kigge på solopgangen = look at the sunrise
• se på solopgangen = look at the sunrise

But there can be a slight difference in feel:

• kigge på often emphasizes the act of directing your gaze
• se på can sound a bit broader or more neutral

In many everyday contexts, both are possible. In this sentence, kigge på feels very natural because it suggests the speaker keeps looking at the sunrise almost involuntarily.

A useful breakdown is:

• Jeg = I
• kan ikke = cannot
• lade være med at = help / refrain from
• kigge på = look at
• solopgangen = the sunrise
• når = when
• lyset = the light
• rammer = hits
• søen = the lake

So the overall sense is:

• I can’t help looking at the sunrise when the light hits the lake

That is the best way to understand the sentence naturally, even though the Danish structure is built differently from English.