The IKEA Dictionary

15 min read Original article ↗

By Lars Petrus

This site is not affiliated with IKEA in any way.

Part of what makes IKEA unique is their product names. Each name means something, often in a funny or ambigious way. When IKEA went international, they decided to use the same Swedish names everywhere. This makes sense from an organizational sanity standpoint, but it deprives most of the world of this particular joy.

Until now!

IKEA product names fall into a few main groups.
Proper Swedish words.
Improper Swedish words. IKEA laughs at the 'rules' of human language!
First names. Mostly Swedish, some Scandinavian, occasional exotic names.
Geographical names. Swedish, Danish, Norwegian or Finnish. Yes, there are patterns. Here is a map of all 320 places
A few names that defy categorization.
? Mystery names I haven't figured out... Currently 130 out of 1362 names.

THIS SITE IS INCOMPLETE AND VERY MUCH UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

Even the defined words can be incomplete (or wrong), since the words are deliberately ambigious, and several places have the same name. Send feedback to ikea@lar5.com

* A B C ̰ D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V Y Z Å Ä Ö

A

ADMETEname from Greek mythologyW

AGAMthe Agama Agama lizardW

AGENa city in France?

AGNARYDuninhabited place in Småland

AGNESwedish boy name

AINASwedish girl name

AKURUMa kind of big bottle used by the Turkana people in east Africa

AKUTacute   emergency room

ALEXSwedish boy name

ALGalga (singular of algae)W

ALLAKmountain in arctic Sweden

ALSARPvillage in Småland

ALSVIKplace in Stockholm archipelago

ALVEOld Swedish boy name

ALVINEOld English girl name

ALÄNGpart of the town of Västervik in Sweden

AMONseems like this is the Egyptian deity Amun-RaW

ANDYSwedish boy name

ANEBODApart of Lammhult in Sweden

ANITASwedish girl name

ANJASwedish girl name

ANNOyear (from latin)

ANRIKrich in heritage

ANSSIFinnish boy name

APAape/monkey

APELSKÄRSwedish island on south east coast

ARHOLMAan island in the Stockholm archipelago

ARILDpart of the city of Höganäs, Sweden

ARVinheritance   heritage

ARVINNNorwegian boy name

ASKERNorwegian city near Oslo

ASPUDDENStockholm neighborhood and subway station

ASPVIK'Aspen Bay'. In central Sweden

ASTRAKANan apple variety popular in Sweden

ATNAvillage in south east Norway W

AUKRAtown in west Norway W

B

BAGISslang 1 Krona ($0.14)   slang the Stockholm suburb of BagarmossenW

BANDribbon   (recording) tape   (rock) band

BEATASwedish girl name

BEDDINGEplace in southernmost Sweden

BENNOSwedish boy name

BERITSwedish girl name

BERTASwedish girl name

BESTÅremain   consist of

BIBBISwedish girl name

BIGUMDanish village, known for it's church

BILLYSwedish boy name

BITIGStrangely constructed word. Should mean 'bite-y', or condusive to biting.

BJURSTApart of Sollefteå in north Sweden

BJÖRKEFALL'Birch Fall'. Tiny place in south Sweden

BLANKENtwo lakes (Big Blanken and Small Blanken) in southeast Sweden.

BLIXTlightning   (camera) flash

BLOMÖRTLiterally 'flower herb', but it looks most like a misspelling of 'bolmört', which is the toxic plant 'stinking nightshade'W

BLUNDAto close one's eyes

BOALTsmall place in south Sweden

BOHOLMENinland lake in central Sweden

BOLIDENgold mine in north Sweden W

BOLLÖ'Ball Island'. In south Sweden.

BONDISmade up -IS word 'Bonde' means 'farmer, so 'bondis' could mean 'farmer thingie'

BORRISmade up -IS word 'Borr' means 'drill', so 'borris' could mean 'drill thingie'

BOSSESwedish boy name

BRALLISmade up -IS word 'Bralla' is slang for 'pants', so 'Brallis' could mean 'pants thingie'   slang hot babe

BRASAfireplace   slang crotch

BREDSKÄR'Wide Island' in Finland

BROMMÖan island in Sweden's largest lake, Vänern

BRUNKRISSLAa flower apparently called 'Ploughman's-spikenard' in English

BRÄDAboard   slang outcompete a rival

BURSvillage on Gotland

BYGELU shaped metal piece. As used in stirrups, underwire bras, padlocks, electronics, etc

BYHOLMAsmall village in Småland

BÅGVIK'Bend Bay'. Place in Småland

BÄRBARcarryable. mostly used for laptop computers

BÄRBYvillage outside Uppsala, Sweden W

BÖLSNÄStiny place in Småland

BÖRJESwedish boy name

C

CLIPSswenglish clips

CYRILAncient Greek boy name

D

DACKEThe leader of the Dacke War rebellion of 1542-43W

DAVEEnglish boy name

DEGERNESvillage in south east Norway W

DEKAslang to deteriorate

DILLINGa village in Østfold, Norway

DIMPAdrop unexpectedly

DITOditto/likewise

DITTEGerman girl name

DOCKSTAvillage in north Sweden W

DOFTAto smell (nice)

DOMSJÖtown in north Sweden. Home of Peter Forsberg and other ice hockey stars.

DRAGANSerbian/Croatian/Bosnian boy name

DRAGONTarragon or dragon's-wortW

DRILLmechanical practice

DROPSswenglish drops

DRYCKJOMolder word for (mostly alcoholic) drinks

DRÄLLAslang 'muck around' or 'spill'

DUTTa tiny amount

DYGNday   24 hour period

DYNINGswell (long low wave)

DÄNKAto spray water on laundry

E

EDGARSwedish boy name

EDITSwedish girl name

EDLANDvillage in central Norway W

EDSVIKsmall fishing village on Swedens west coast

EGBYvillage on Öland in Sweden

EIDENorwegian coast town W

EINAvillage in central Norway W

EKBY'Oak Village'. Small village in west Sweden

EKÅS'Oak Ridge'. Part of the city of Borås in west Sweden

ELGÅvillage in east Norway

ELIASSwedish boy name

ELLYSwedish girl name

ELVERDAMa camping site in Denmark

EMSENa small Swedish lake

ENGANplace in arctic Norway

ENGENESarctic Norwegian peninsula

ENGERsmall village in central Norway

ENSENlake in central Sweden

ERBIUMErbium. The 68th element, discovered in Sweden in 1843W

ERIKSwedish boy name

ERSLEVvillage in Denmark

EVERTSwedish boy name

F

FADOa Portugese folk music genreW

FAMNIG'famn' = embrace, so 'famnig' would mean 'embrace-y' if that concept made any sense.

FANSTAplace in central Sweden

FARUMancient Danish city W

FATTBAR'graspable', with both hand and mind

FEJKAswenglish (to) fake

FEMMENlake in south Sweden

FIGGJOporcelain manufacturing village in Norway W

FILfile   lane   Swedish youghurt

FILLSTAplace in north Sweden

FINLIRfinesse play (sports)

FINNVIK'Finn Bay'. In Norway

FINTORPa small place in Småland

FIRAcelebrate   lower with a rope

FISKÖ'Fish Island'. Small island in west Finland.

FJÄLLSTAvillage in central Sweden

FLAKSAa misspellling of flaxa ('(to) flap'), or flaska ('bottle') ...?

FLOKATIancient macedonian wool rugW

FLORVÅGpart of the Norwegian city of Askøy. Site of German naval base during WW2.

FLORÖNorways westernmost town W

FLYGELgrand piano   wing (of mansion)

FLYNa village in central Sweden

FLÄNGslang hurry/bustle   slang stupid

FLÄRKE3 different villages in Örnsköldsvik have this name

FONNESplace in west Norway

FRAKTAto transport cargo

FRYKENthree lakes in west Sweden (upper, middle and lower Fryken)

FYLLENtwo lakes (North & South Fyllen) in Småland   (archaic) 'fill!'

FÅBORGancient Danish city

FÅVANGtown in central Norway W

FÖRNUFTreason (the capacity for rational thought)

G

GABBEHa sort of Persian carpetW

GATTENDanish village. Has a golf court.

GEDSERthe Danish city with the ferry to Germany W

GIDEÅa village in north Sweden

GIMÅNriver in north Sweden

GLASHOLM'Glass Island'. Place in south Sweden

GLENNSwedish boy name

GNARPtown in central Sweden

GORMDanish boy name

GREVBÄCKvillage in south Sweden with a 700 year old church

GRILLERslang strange ideas   slang ice skates

GRIMLEplace in central Sweden

GRYBY'Dawn Village' in south Sweden

GRÄNUMvillage in south Sweden

GRÖNÖ'Green Island'. A beach in Småland

GULLHOLMEN'Gold Island'. Old fishing village on Sweden's west coast.

GÅSGRUND'Goose Ground'. Tiny Finnish island

GÖMMAREN'The Hider'. A lake south of Stockolm W

H

HAGALUNDsite of the landmark blue highrises near Stockholm W

HALSTEDDanish village with a golf court, a church and a monestaryv

HAMNVIK'Harbor Bay' in Norway

HAMPENa parish in central Denmark   slang marijuana

HAROLAtown in west Finland

HARRYSwedish boy name

HAVBROvillage in north Denmark

HEATswenglish used in Swedish only in the sports sense, as in 'heat 3 of the qualification round'

HEDDAshort for Hedvig girl name

HEIDALtown in central Norway W

HEIMDALarea in the Norwegian city of Trondheim W

HELLUMtown in north Denmark

HELSINGÖRDanish city. Hamlet's home town W

HEMNEStown in north Norway W

HEMSJÖ'Home Lake', a church village in west Sweden

HENRIKSDAL'Henrik's Valley', village in west Finland

HENSVIKsubvillage in central Sweden

HERANDvillage in west Norway

HJELMÅSa place in west Norway

HJUVIKa heighborhood in Göteborg W

HOOthis doesn't seem to mean anything. My guess is it's 'HOOD' with a D-octomy.

HOSLEneighborhood in the city of Bærum on south Norway

HOVETa major ice hockey arena in Stockholm W

HOVÅSa part of Askim in Gothenburg, Sweden

HUGLOan island in west Norway

HUGOSwedish boy name

HULDASwedish girl name

HULINGENthe lake by the city of Hultsfred in south Sweden

HULTÖIsland off the Småland coast

HUSNESAluminium town in west Norway W

HUSVIKplace in north Norway

HUSÅ'House Creek. Swedish mountain village

HUTTENthe shot (of alcohol)

HYLLISmade up -IS word 'Hylla' means 'shelf', so 'Hyllis' could mean 'shelf thingie'

HYTTANan iron ore or glass furnace

HÅBOLsmall village in west Sweden

HÅVAthere seems to be no English word for using a landing net? Anyway, the term is most used meaning 'raking in'

HÄGGthe tree called 'bird cherry' or 'mayday tree' in English

HÄLSAhealth   (to) greet

HÄSTÖ'Horse Island' in Småland

HÖLLVIKENbeach town on the southern edge of sweden W

HÖRBYcity in south Sweden W

I

IDELIG(annoyingly) perpetual and repetitive

IKEAthe name comes from the initials of the founder, Ingvar Kamprad, his home farm Elmtaryd, and village and AgunnarydW

ILSBOvillage in north Sweden

INEZSwedish girl name

INGERSwedish girl name

INGOnickname for 'Ingemar'. Mostly refers to boxing legend Ingemar JohanssonW

INGOLFAncient Scandinavian boy name

INNERcentre midfielder in footballW

INSATScontribution/stake

IRISSwedish girl name

IRJARussian/Finnish girl name

IRMASwedish girl name

IVARSwedish boy name

J

JABBA(to) jab (boxing term)

JAKOBSwedish boy name

JANNESwedish boy name

JANSJÖlake in north Sweden

JARENvillage in west Sweden

JEFFSwedish boy name

JERRIKAncient Scandinavian boy name

JIGGAto dance jig   to engage in jig fishingW

JOHANSwedish boy name

JONASSwedish boy name

JORUNSwedish girl name

JUBILARperson celebrating anniversary

JULESFrench boy name

JÄRLEBOplace in central Sweden

JÖKELglacier (from Icelandic)

K

KAJpier   Swedish boy name

KAJSASwedish girl name

KARLSTADthe capital of Värmland in west Sweden W

KARLSÖ'Charles Island'. In south Sweden.

KATTUDDEN'Cape Cat'. place in west Sweden.

KAUSTBYtown in Finland (the map shows the finnish name)

KETTYItalian girl name

KILBYplace in central Sweden

KIRPUS professor and author David L. Kirp is the ONLY remotely well known 'kirp' I can find...W

KIVSTAplace in central Sweden

KLADDgoo   rough copy

KLIPPAN'The Rock'. City in south Sweden. My mother is from Klippan. W

KLUBBOtiny place in arctic Norway

KLUDDa clumsy drawing

KLÄPPEunknown place in north Sweden

KNÖSslang rich person

KOLDBY'Cold Town'. Town in north west Denmark

KOLONColon (punctuation)

KORPOisland town in Finland W

KRABBchoppy (sailor jargon)

KRAMSNÖeasily shapable snow (Swedes have as many words for snow as eskimos)

KRYSSBOplace in central Sweden

KULLAa female DalecarlianW

KULLEN'The Hill'. Site of a famous lighthouse in south Sweden W

KVARTquarter (of an hour)

KVISSELtown in north Denmark

KÖGEDanish port city W

L

LACKvarnish   slang angry

LAGANriver and town in south Sweden

LAIVAFinnish word for 'ship'

LAUKVIKarctic Norwegian fishing and tourist village

LAXEBY'Salmon Village'. On Öland in south Sweden

LEIRVIK'Clay Bay', a town in Norway W

LEKSVIKa town in central Norway

LENASwedish girl name

LENDAOld Germanic girl name

LERBERG'Mud Mountain'. Village in south Norway

LERBÄCK'Mud Creek. Village in central Sweden

LIATORPa village in south Sweden

LILLSwedish girl name

LILLEBY'Little Village'. Suburb of Gothenburg, Sweden.

LILLÅKER'Smallfield'. small place in Småland

LINGOswenglish Lingo

LINNARPan apparently uninhabited place in south Sweden

LJUDAto sound out each letter as you write it

LJUSDALa town in central Sweden W

LJUSNANmajor river in central Sweden W

LJUSÅSunknown place in Småland

LOCKlid   lock of hair   lure

LOKKAa lake in arctic Finland W

LONEVÅGthe center of the west Norwegian city of Osterøy W

LUDDESwedish boy name

LUMMIGlush (about vegetaion)

LUNTAtome   fuse (for explosive)

LURÖYtown in north Norway W

LYDUMa small parish in west Denmark with a 1000 year old church

LÅGISmade up -IS word 'Låg' means 'low', so 'Lågis' could mean 'low thingie'

LÖKÖ'Onion Island' in south Sweden.

LÖVAdecorate with leafs

M

MACKISmade up -IS word 'Macka' is slang for 'sandwich', so 'Mackis' could mean 'sandwich thingie

MAGASINmagazine   storage unit

MAJBY9 people in Sweden have this last name. Nothing else seems to.

MALOUSwedish girl name

MALTESwedish boy name

MANGERtown in west Norway

MANNESwedish boy name

MAVASplace in arctic Sweden

MELBUarctic Norwegian fishing village W

MELDALsmall city in central Norway W

MERETEScandinavian girl name

MIENa meteorite crater lake in Småland W

MILSwedish mile = 10km

MINDENeighborhood in the city of Bergen, west Norway W

MIXTURmixture (older word)

MJÄLLBYfishing town in south Sweden, known for it's football team W

MJÖNÄSsmall village in south Sweden

MONGSTADmajor oil port and refinery in Norway W

MOSIPPAthe flower 'Anemone Vernalis' has no English name

MOSJÖtiny village in north Sweden

MUDDUSa Swedish National Park W

MULAmule   rub with snow

MYKENremote lighthouse island in arctic Norway

MÅNSTAD'Moon City' town in west Sweden

MÄLARÖcommon name for any island in Lake Mälaren by Stockholm

MÄRITSwedish girl name

MÖRRUMcity in south east Sweden W

N

NANDORa tribe of elves in the Tolkien world   Hungarian boy name

NEGLINGEpart the city of Nacka, by Stockholm

NILSSwedish boy name

NISSESwedish boy name

NORDANÖ'Northerly Wind Island'. Part of the Swedish city on Avesta. Not an Island.

NORDENthe north   the nordic countriesW

NORNAone of the three destiny goddesses in norse mythologyW   the Calypso orchidW

NORRESKOG'North Forest'. Place in south Sweden.

NORRSTEN'Northstone'. Swedish village

NUTIDthe present   present tense

NYSTEDcity in south Denmark W

NÄCKTENlake in central Sweden

NÄSUMtown in south Sweden

NÖJEentertainment

O

ODDVARNorwegian boy name

OLLESwedish boy name

OMARSwedish boy name

OREvillage in central Denmark

ORGELorgan (the keyboard instrument)

ORRLÖTa resort outside Stockholm

ORÖDa tiny, unknown place in south Sweden

OXEL'Swedish Whitebeam', a northern European plant related to the Rose bushW

OXSKÄR'Ox Island'. Small Swedish west coast island   'Ox Island'. Small Swedish east coast island

P

PELLOtown in arctic Finland W

PILATORPtiny village or far in south Sweden

PJÄSpiece   (theatrical) play

PJÄTTERYDparish in Småland where Ingvar Kamprad was born

PLANKwooden fence   planks

PLASTISmade up -IS word 'Plast' means 'plastic', so 'plastis' could mean 'plastic thingie'   'plastic ice' or 'plasty'

PRÄKTIGgood/strong/reliable   slang overly wholesome

PYRA(to) smolder

PÄLLBOplace in central Sweden

R

RAGNASwedish girl name

RAJTANslang 'rajtan tajtan' is a silly slang term for 'partying'

RAMVIKVillage in north Sweden. Known as the home of former prime minster Thorbjörn Fälldin W

RARAadorable   rare

REDALENvillage in central Norway

RENSsmall Danish village by the German border

RESAtravel   raise (a building)

REXBO(only map for now)

RIBBAbar (as for high jump)

RIGELthe brightest star in OrionW

RINGSJÖNlake in Småland. 'Ring Lake'

RINGSKÄRsmall rocky island on the east coast

RITVAFinnish girl name

ROGERSwedish boy name

RUGGA(to) moult (for birds)W

RUTBOPart of the Swedish city of Avesta W

RUTERdiamond (card suit)

RÅÅNcreek in south Sweden. Should really be named 'Råå-ån' (The Råå creek)

RÄTTVIKplace in central Sweden. My father is from Rättvik. W

RÖNNSKÄRIsland in north Sweden. Location of a major Smelter.

RÖNÅSplace in south Sweden

RÖRA(to) touch   stir   mess

S

SAGOLIKfabulous   like a fairytale

SALBOplace in central Sweden

SALMIplace in central Finland

SANNIFinnish girl name

SAXÅN'Scissor Creek'. Place in west Sweden

SIGNESwedish girl name

SIGNUMsignum (really a latin word)

SILJANMajor Swedish lake

SINDALtown in north Denmark W

SIRLIGgraceful & fragile

SJÖVIK'Lake Bay', village in west Sweden W

SKALApeel   scale (of a map)

SKUBBslang can mean 'a run' and many other things

SKÄRcuts   tiny rocky island   pink

SLITBARa made up word that would mean 'something that wears well' if it existed

SLUGISmade up -IS word 'Slug' means 'sly', so 'slugis' could mean 'sly one'

SLÅNblackthorn or sloeW

SLÄTTENthe plain. Several tiny Swedish places have this name

SMEDSTA'Blacksmith City' in north Sweden

SMIDDforged (in blacksmithing)

SMÅDAL'Small Valley'. Tiny village in west Sweden

SMÅLAND'Small Lands'. The province where IKEA was born. The IKEA kids play area has this name as a punny read of the word as 'land of the small'W

SMÄRTtall, thin & good looking

SNITTA(to) cut (flowers)

SNODDtwisty string   slang stolen

SNÄRTIGcutting (speech)   slender

SNÖFLINGAseveral snow flakes stuck together

SOFIASwedish girl name

SOLVARNorwegian boy name

SPÄNNslang 1 Krona ($0.14)

STAVEplace in southwest Norway

STENstone   Swedish boy name

STIBYvillage in south east Sweden

STICKA(to) knit   (to) leave   (to) stab

STJÄLKstalk (plant stem)

SUNESwedish boy name

SUSSA(to) sleep (baby talk)

SUVERÄNsuperior   independent

SY(to) sow

SYLLINGvillage in south Norway W

SÄTERcity in central Sweden W

SÖRLINorwegian mountain village

SÖRUMcity in south Norway W

T

TAG(to) take

TAJMAswenglish (to) time

TAJTswenglish tight

TANJARussian girl name

TASSAto walk quietly and possibly sneakily, like a cat (there has to be a better word?)

TEKLASwedish girl name

TERJENorwegian boy name

TERTIALtertile (third of a year)

THISTEDcity in north Denmark

TJÖMEisland village in south east Norway W

TOBOsmall town in central Sweden

TOLGa village in Småland

TOLGAtown in southeast Norway W

TORKA(to) dry   drought

TORSBY'Thors Village' . Swedish town in the forests near Norway. W

TRANDAL'Crane Valley' in west Norway

TRENSUMtiny village in south Sweden

TROLLFJORDEN'Troll Fjord', Photogenic fjord in north Norway

TROLLSTA'Troll Town'. SMall place south of Stockholm

TROLSKmagic/enchanted   troll-like

TROMSNESa small Norwegian village/farm

TROMSÖa city in arctic Norway. Home of Röyksopp W

TRONDHEIMone of Norway's biggest cities W

TRONESarea in the Norwegian city of Verdal

TROSSstrong rope used on boats

TRULSScandinavian boy name

TRYTArun short   be deficient

TULLERÖan island in the Stockholm archipelago

TVEITplace in west Norway

TYLÖSANDAn exclusive Swedish beach town. Home to Roxette star Per Gessle W

TÅRNBYDanish city near Copenhagen W

TÅRSTA'Tear Town'. Place in west Sweden

TÄRNAN'The Tern'. Lake in central Sweden.

TÄRNÖ'Tern Island'. In south Sweden

U

UNNISwedish girl name

UTBYsmall village in West Sweden W

UVÅS'Owl Ridge'. Obscure place in central Sweden.

V

VALBY(only map for now)

VANVIK(only map for now)

VEJMONvillage in north Sweden

VIKAREsomething (or someone) that folds

VIKISmade up -IS word 'Vika' means 'to fold', so 'vikis' could mean 'fold thingie'

VINSTRAvillage and river in central Norway W

VISENa lake in Småland

VITSKÄRtiny godforsaken Swedish island

VITTEN19th centry small coin. Now only used in the expression 'not worth a vitten'

VRETENa station in the Stockholm subway W

VÄGGISmade up -IS word 'Vägg' means 'wall', so 'väggis' could mean 'wall thingie'

VÄGHULTtiny place in Småland

VÄNNAplace in west Sweden

VÄV(a) weave

W

WILMASwedish girl name

Y

YNGSJÖcoastal village in south Sweden

YSBYvillage in south Sweden

Z

ZITAThe patron saint of maidsW   Stockholm's oldest movie theatre

Å

ÅDAL(only map for now)

ÅNES(only map for now)

ÅNNplace in north Sweden

ÅRSTIDseason (one of the four)

ÅSARPplace in Småland

ÅSELEtown in north Sweden

ÅSUNDENfamous rauk site on Gotland

Ä

ÄLMHULTcity in Småland where the first IKEA store opened in 1958 W

ÄNGArural place in central Sweden

ÄPPLARÖan island in the Stockholm archipelago

ÄTRANplace and river in south Sweden

Ö

ÖGLAloop (on a string)

ÖRESUNDthe strait between Sweden and Denmark W

ÖSTERÖ'East Island', Island in west Finland.