What those weird Ikea product names really mean

KOTTBULLAR? Frajen? Graddas? How on earth do the people at Ikea come up with these strange product names?

Interesting couch colour choice.

THE first thing you’ll notice when you walk into an Ikea, no matter where you are in the world, is the fact that every product is accompanied by a strange name.

When you finally pass the bedrooms and bathrooms, and make it to the dining room area, you won’t see a chair labelled as “chair.” Instead, there’ll be some unknown word you’re inclined to Google. That word is Swedish.

When Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Ikea, began to name his products, he decided he didn’t want to use numbers, due to his dyslexia.

Instead, he decided to use the names of people, places and other things to help him categorise each item. That might be easier for him, or someone else who speaks Swedish, but not for everyone.

This guide will help you identify your favourite Ikea products.

Here’s how they’re classified:

Clocks, containers, wall fixtures, and picture frames are named after informal expressions and Swedish places.

An Ikea clock.

Kitchen utensils are named after different spices and herbs, as well as fish, mushrooms fruits and random foreign words.

If only the Ikea showrooms came with food.

Toys and other children’s items are named after several animals, birds and random adjectives.

Draws filled with Ikea toys.

Bedding and pillows are named after different precious gems, flowers and plants.

A pretty purple Ikea bed.

Lighting fixtures are named after genres of music, chemistry, meteorologic terms, days, boats and nautical terms.

Ikea lights.

Carpets are named after Danish places

Interesting couch colour choice.

Garden furniture pieces are named after Swedish islands

How pretty.

Chairs and desks are male names

We couldn’t name a chair Bob, would we?

Fabrics and curtains are female names

A room decked out with Ikea curtains.

Kitchens are grammatical terms, sometimes names of people

An Ikea kitchen.

Bathroom fixtures are named after Scandinavian bays, rivers and lakes

An Ikea bathroom.

Coffee tables, bookshelves, media storage and doorknobs are named after Swedish places

Who knew your bookcase was named after a place in Sweden?

Wardrobes, hallway furniture and beds are named after Norwegian places

The ultimate in Scandinavian-chic.

This article originally appeared on Elite Daily.