The word 梯子 is formed by combining two characters: 梯, which pictorially and conceptually represents a ladder through its wood (木) radical and a component (弟) hinting at its pronunciation, and 子, a very common suffix added to numerous nouns in Chinese. This suffix 子 doesn't change the core meaning of "ladder" but typically signals that it is a tangible, everyday object, completing the formation of a standard, concrete noun for the tool.