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"The text is written in a way that is difficult to understand."

Is it correct to translate this sentence as

Le texte est écrit d'une manière qui est difficile de comprendre.

In particular, is it correct to use the preposition "de" in "d'une manière"? If translated directly from English it would be "dans" or "en", but I usually see "de" used with "manière".

Also, is it correct to use "de comprendre" rather than "à comprendre"?

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Yes. "De" is the correct preposition to use: "d'une manière". The same goes for "d'une façon".

« C'est difficile de comprendre » never works; « C'est difficile à comprendre » is how you phrase the idea.

Last but not least, the sentence can be shortened without losing its essential meaning:

Le texte est difficile à comprendre.

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  • Thanks. Would one say "Il est difficile à lire ce texte" and not "Il est difficile de lire ce texte"?
    – user11550
    Oct 14, 2016 at 22:12
  • @user11550 Unfortunately, it’s the other way around. « Il est difficile de comprendre ce texte. » or « C'est difficile de comprendre ce texte. » is the way to go, as « il » or « ce » serves as a dummy subject here. The sentence can be rephrased without using the dummy subject: « Comprendre ce texte est difficile. » or « De comprendre ce texte est difficile. » The same notion applies to the equivalent expression in English: “It is difficult to understand this text.
    – Con-gras-tue-les-chiens
    Oct 14, 2016 at 22:21

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