Learn Hardcore Chinese: bǐqǐ biérén cónglái bù kàn shuōmíng, tā juéde zìjǐ gèng ānxīn. - Compared with people who never read the instructions, he feels more at ease.

Structure here:
比起别人从来不看说明，他觉得自己更安心。
→ “Compared with other people never reading the instructions, he feels more at ease (about what he does).”
比 alone can also introduce a comparison:
- 他比别人更安心。 – “He is more at ease than others.”
比起 often:
- Comes at the beginning of the sentence, like a prepositional phrase:
  比起 A，(subject) …
- Has a slightly more explicit, contrastive feeling, similar to English “Compared to …”.
- Is often followed by a pause/comma.

You can usually change 比起 A，B to B 比 A with some rewording, but the rhythm and focus change.

Example rephrasing:

Original: 比起别人从来不看说明，他觉得自己更安心。
Possible: 他觉得，自己看说明，比那些从来不看说明的人更安心。

In 比起别人从来不看说明, who is the subject of 从来不看说明? Why isn’t there an explicit subject before it?

The implicit subject of 从来不看说明 is 别人 (“other people”).

You can think of it as:

比起别人（他们）从来不看说明
→ “Compared with other people (who) never read the instructions”

In Chinese, once a noun is introduced, it can serve as the subject of the following verb phrase without repeating a pronoun:

老师说话，我们都听。
“When the teacher speaks, we all listen.”
(Subject “we” is only stated once.)

Similarly:

别人从来不看说明
= “Other people never read the instructions.”

So the full logical structure is:

比起 [别人从来不看说明]，他觉得自己更安心。

What does 从来 (cónglái) add to 不看说明? Could I just say 别人不看说明?

从来 means “ever / at any time (up till now)” and is usually used together with a negative to mean “never”:

从来不 + verb = “never (do something)”
从来没(有) + verb 过 = “have never (done something)”

So:

别人从来不看说明
→ “Other people never read the instructions (at all, as a habit).”

If you say only 别人不看说明, it can simply mean:

“Other people do not read the instructions (in this situation / right now / generally).”

You lose the strong, absolute ‘never’ feeling.
So 从来 emphasizes that this is a consistent, habitual “never”.

Why is it 从来不看说明 and not 从来没看说明 here?

The difference is aspect:

从来不 + verb
- Describes a habit / rule / tendency.
- “(Someone) never does (this), as a rule.”
→ 别人从来不看说明
= “Other people never read instructions (as a habit).”
从来没(有) + verb 过
- Describes past experience (up to now).
- “(Someone) has never (in their life so far) done this (even once).”
→ 别人从来没看过说明
= “Other people have never read the instructions (even once, in the past).”

In your sentence, we’re talking about typical behavior (habit), so 从来不看 is appropriate.

What exactly does 说明 (shuōmíng) mean here? Is it a verb “to explain” or a noun “instructions”?

In this sentence, 说明 is a noun, meaning something like:

“instructions”,
“explanatory text”,
similar to “the manual / the explanation”.

So 看说明 here ≈ “read the instructions / read the explanation section”.

说明 can be:

A verb: “to explain; to illustrate”
- 我来说明一下。 – “Let me explain.”
A noun: “explanation; instructions; notes”
- 使用说明 – “usage instructions”
- 产品说明 – “product description / instructions”

Here, from 不看说明 (“don’t read instructions”), it is clearly a thing that is read, so it is used as a noun.

What does 自己 (zìjǐ) do here? Why not just say 他觉得更安心?

自己 is a reflexive pronoun, roughly “self / oneself”. In this clause:

他觉得自己更安心。
Literally: “He feels himself more at ease.”

Functions of 自己 here:

Emphasis on contrast with others:
- “Compared with those people, he himself feels more at ease.”
- It highlights “he, as opposed to others.”
Clarifies the reference in more complex sentences:
In longer sentences, 自己 makes it clear we’re talking about the same person as the subject (他).

Without 自己, 他觉得更安心 is still grammatically fine and clear in context, but:

他觉得自己更安心 sounds more natural and adds a bit of self-focus / contrast:
- “He feels he himself is more at ease.”

What is the role of 更 (gèng) here? Could I leave it out?

更 means “even more / more (in comparison)” and explicitly marks a higher degree.

安心 = “at ease / reassured / relaxed”
更安心 = “more at ease / even more reassured”

Given the comparative setup with 比起, 更 is very natural:

比起别人从来不看说明，他觉得自己更安心。
→ “Compared with others never reading the instructions, he feels more at ease.”

If you remove 更:

他觉得自己安心。
Just says “he feels at ease” with no explicit comparative ‘more’; the comparison introduced by 比起 would feel incomplete.

You usually want 更 (or something similar like 更加) when there is an explicit comparison.

Can I move things around and say something like:
他觉得自己比别人从来不看说明更安心?

As written, 他觉得自己比别人从来不看说明更安心 is awkward and not natural, mainly because 别人从来不看说明 is being forced inside a 比-phrase in a confusing way.

Natural alternatives that keep a similar meaning:

Keep 比起 at the front (minimal change):
- 比起那些从来不看说明的人，他觉得自己更安心。
  (“Compared with those people who never read the instructions, he feels more at ease.”)
Use 比 with clearer structure:
- 他觉得，自己看说明比那些从来不看说明的人更安心。
  (“He thinks that reading the instructions himself makes him feel more at ease than those who never read them.”)

Points to note:

With 比, both sides of the comparison should be parallel things (two people, two actions, two states, etc.).
In your attempted sentence, 自己 is a person, but 别人从来不看说明 is a full clause (others never read instructions), so they don’t line up nicely.

That’s why the original 比起 …，(他) 觉得 … structure is smoother.

Is 比起别人从来不看说明 missing something like 的人? Would 比起那些从来不看说明的人 be more correct?

Yes, many speakers would find 比起那些从来不看说明的人 (with 的人) more explicit and natural, because:

那些从来不看说明的人
= “those people who never read the instructions”

The original:

比起别人从来不看说明
is grammatically possible in colloquial usage, but it’s a bit elliptical:
- It’s like saying “Compared to other people never reading instructions …” and leaving out words such as 那种行为 (“that behavior”) or 那些人 (“those people”).

So:

More explicit, very natural:
- 比起那些从来不看说明的人，他觉得自己更安心。
Original: shorter and a bit looser; still understandable, especially in spoken language or casual writing.

What does 安心 (ānxīn) mean here? Is it an adjective, a verb, or a feeling like “to be relieved”?

In this sentence, 安心 works like an adjectival state: “(to be) at ease / reassured / not worried”.

他觉得自己更安心。
= “He feels that he is more at ease.”

Depending on context, 安心 can be:

Adjective-like / stative verb:
- 我很安心。 – “I’m very at ease / reassured.”
Verb (to set someone’s mind at rest):
- 这句话让他很安心。 – “This sentence put him at ease.”

Here it describes his emotional state: he feels more secure / less anxious when he (presumably) reads the instructions, compared to people who never do.