The word 局面 is formed through a conceptual metaphor. It combines 局 (jú), which originally means a chessboard or game, suggesting a bounded, structured situation with defined players and rules, with 面 (miàn), meaning face or surface. Together, they create the image of "the face of the game" or "the lay of the board", metaphorically extending to mean the overall state, configuration, or prevailing conditions of a broader situation, as if one were looking down upon and assessing an entire strategic landscape.