I don't understand the meaning of this sentence

Posted by ilovechinesep0d December 1, 2009 in the Group I Have a Question .

I don't understand the meaning of this sentence:

我跟朋友比起来的确比较用功。
Wǒ gēn péngyou bǐqǐlái díquè bǐjiào yònggōng.

Especially I don't understand the "比起来" part.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

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