Learn What IKEA Product Names Really Mean With This Dictionary

IKEA products have many interesting names. Some are Swedish words, others are named after places, and some are just fictitious names made by mixing other words. This dictionary lists them all.

The IKEA Dictionary is a project of Lars Petrus Petrus and he says that most of the IKEA names are actually quite funny or clever, so he wanted to share the joy with others. The project has nothing to do with the brand at all and is a lot of fun to tinker with.

According to Petrus, most IKEA product names fall into several main groups, which include correct Swedish words, incorrect Swedish words, names, place names, and some weird names that don’t seem to fit into any category. Here are some examples:

  • TORSBY : Literally “Torah Village”. Swedish town in the woods near Norway.
  • AMON : A version of the Egyptian deity Amun-Ra.
  • BAGIS : Slang for one krona ($ 0.14). Also slang for the Stockholm suburb of Bagarmossen.
  • ZITA : The patroness of the maids. Also the oldest cinema in Stockholm.
  • BITIG: Strange built humorous word. Means to bite, or conducive to a bite.
  • MAJBI : Nine people in Sweden have this last name. Nothing else looks like it.

Of the 1,362 IKEA products, Petrus is missing only 130 or so. Check out the complete dictionary at the link below.

IKEA Dictionary via Kottke.org

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