The word 天花板 is formed by combining three characters to create a vivid visual metaphor: 天 (tiān, sky/heaven), 花 (huā, flower/pattern), and 板 (bǎn, board/plank). It literally means "sky-flower-board", and it poetically describes a ceiling as an ornamental or patterned board that sits above one's head, likened to a decorated expanse akin to the sky.