The word 比起 is a compound preposition formed by combining the character 比 (bǐ), which means "to compare" or "in comparison with," and the character 起 (qǐ), which literally means "to rise" or "to begin." In this construction, 起 acts as a grammatical complement that emphasizes the initiation or establishment of the comparative framework introduced by 比. Together, 比起 functions as a fixed structure meaning "compared to" or "in comparison with," used to introduce a standard of comparison at the beginning of a sentence, such as in 比起过去，现在的生活好多了 ("Compared to the past, life now is much better").