The word 听话 is formed by combining the character 听 (tīng), which means "to listen" or "to hear", with the character 话 (huà), which means "speech" or "words". Conceptually, it directly joins the action of "listening" to the object "words/speech", creating the literal sense of "to listen to words". This concrete action is then extended metaphorically into a single concept meaning "to be obedient" or "well-behaved", as in a cultural context, truly listening to and heeding someone's instructions is the fundamental act of compliance.