Jeg har svært ved at forstå teksten uden hjælp.

Har svært ved at + infinitive is a very common Danish pattern meaning to have difficulty doing something or to find something hard to do.

So:

• Jeg har svært ved at forstå teksten = I have difficulty understanding the text
• more naturally in English: I find it hard to understand the text

You would not say jeg er svært, because svært is not used that way. If you want to say I am in a difficult situation, that is different:

• Jeg har det svært = I’m having a hard time
• Det er svært = It is difficult

But for difficulty with an action, Danish very often uses:

• have svært ved at + verb

Examples:

• Jeg har svært ved at sove. = I have trouble sleeping.
• Hun har svært ved at lære dansk. = She has difficulty learning Danish.

In this sentence, ved is part of the fixed expression have svært ved at + verb. It does not translate neatly word-for-word.

On its own, ved often means:

• by
• at
• near

For example:

• ved bordet = at the table
• ved huset = by the house

But in har svært ved at forstå, it is best learned as a chunk:

• have svært ved at = have difficulty doing

So instead of translating each word separately, it is more useful to memorize the full pattern.

Because forstå is an infinitive here, and Danish often uses at before the infinitive, like English to.

So:

• at forstå = to understand

In this construction:

• Jeg har svært ved at forstå ... = I have difficulty understanding / to understand ...

You will see at + infinitive very often in Danish:

• Jeg prøver at læse. = I’m trying to read.
• Han elsker at rejse. = He loves to travel.

So here at forstå is simply to understand.

Svær is the basic adjective form, and svært is the t-form (neuter form). Danish adjectives often change form depending on grammar.

Basic pattern:

• en svær tekst = a difficult text
• et svært spørgsmål = a difficult question

But in expressions like have svært ved, Danish uses svært, not svær. So you should learn this as the normal form in that expression.

Compare:

• Teksten er svær. = The text is difficult.
• Jeg har svært ved at forstå teksten. = I have difficulty understanding the text.

So the two forms are both correct, but they are used in different structures.

Danish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun.

So:

• tekst = text
• teksten = the text

This is different from English, where you put the before the noun.

Examples:

• bog = book
• bogen = the book
• bil = car
• bilen = the car

So forstå teksten means understand the text, not just understand text.

Yes, but the meaning changes.

• en tekst = a text
• teksten = the text

So:

• Jeg har svært ved at forstå teksten uden hjælp. = I have trouble understanding the text without help. This refers to a specific text.

• Jeg har svært ved at forstå en tekst uden hjælp. = I have trouble understanding a text without help. This sounds more general or introduces one text among others.

In many contexts, teksten is more natural if speaker and listener already know which text is being discussed.

Uden hjælp means without help. In Danish, uncountable or abstract nouns often appear without an article in expressions like this.

So:

• uden hjælp = without help
• med hjælp = with help

This is similar to English, where we normally say without help, not without a help.

Examples:

• Han klarede det uden hjælp. = He managed it without help.
• Vi gjorde det med hjælp fra læreren. = We did it with help from the teacher.

Also, hjælp is the correct noun. There is no form hjælpem.

Usually it means without help in a general sense, and in English that is often naturally understood as without any help.

So:

• uden hjælp can be understood as without help or without any help, depending on context.

If you want to make the idea stronger, Danish can say:

• uden nogen hjælp = without any help at all

But in many normal sentences, uden hjælp is enough.

The sentence follows normal Danish main-clause word order:

• Jeg = subject
• har = finite verb
• svært ved at forstå teksten uden hjælp = the rest of the predicate/complement

So the structure is:

Subject + verb + rest

That gives:

• Jeg har svært ved at forstå teksten uden hjælp.

Danish main clauses usually put the finite verb in second position:

• Jeg har ...
• Nu har jeg ...
• I dag har jeg ...

For example:

• I dag har jeg svært ved at forstå teksten. = Today I have trouble understanding the text.

So the sentence is following a very standard Danish pattern.

Yes, Danish is fairly flexible, though some versions sound more natural than others.

For example:

• Jeg har svært ved at forstå teksten uden hjælp.
  This is the most neutral version.
• Uden hjælp har jeg svært ved at forstå teksten.
  This is also correct and emphasizes without help.

When you move uden hjælp to the front, the finite verb still comes second:

• Uden hjælp har jeg ...

That is a key Danish rule.

Yes. Forstå is the standard verb meaning to understand.

Examples:

• Jeg forstår dig. = I understand you.
• Forstår du spørgsmålet? = Do you understand the question?
• Hun forstår dansk. = She understands Danish.

In your sentence, it is in the infinitive:

• at forstå = to understand

So:

• svært ved at forstå teksten = difficulty understanding the text

Yes, very often. Have svært ved at + verb is productive and extremely useful.

Examples:

• Jeg har svært ved at læse håndskrift.
  = I have trouble reading handwriting.
• Han har svært ved at huske navne.
  = He has trouble remembering names.
• Vi har svært ved at finde huset.
  = We have trouble finding the house.
• De har svært ved at tale langsomt.
  = They have difficulty speaking slowly.

So once you learn this pattern, you can use it with many infinitives.

The sentence you have is already natural:

• Jeg har svært ved at forstå teksten uden hjælp.

A few close alternatives are also common:

• Jeg har svært ved at forstå teksten selv.
  = I have trouble understanding the text on my own.
• Jeg kan ikke rigtig forstå teksten uden hjælp.
  = I can’t really understand the text without help.
• Det er svært for mig at forstå teksten uden hjælp.
  = It is hard for me to understand the text without help.

Your original sentence is neutral, correct, and very idiomatic.