33 Impossible To Pronounce IKEA Furniture Names (+ Meanings) (2024)

FAQs

What do the IKEA furniture names mean? ›

Beds, wardrobes, hall furniture = Norwegian place names. Bookcases = Professions, Scandinavian boy's names. Bowls, vases, candle and candle holders = Swedish place names, adjectives, spices, herbs, fruits and berries. Boxes, wall decoration, pictures and frames, clocks = Swedish slang expressions, Swedish place names.

But despite its popularity, people everywhere are still saying its name all wrong. English speakers tend to pronounce the company name as “AYE-kee-yah”, while the Japanese seem to prefer the term “Ik-kyah”.

For Ikea product names follow a system: because the company's founder, Ingvar Kamprad, is dyslexic, he found that naming products with proper names and words made them easier to identify.

Apparently, an IKEA representative told ABC that the company expected Americans to pronounce the name wrong when they first opened U.S. stores 30 years ago. Instead of pushing the "ee-KAY-uh" agenda forward, they started pronouncing it the way they thought we would—and "I-kee-ya" was born.

The Swedish multinational conglomerate has come out to set the record straight on how to pronounce IKEA. It turns out, it's not "ai-kay-uh", nor is it "ai-kee-uh" or "ee-kia"; nope, it's pronounced "ee-kay-uh".

IKEA is named after the initials of founder Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd, the farm on which he grew up, and Agunnaryd, the nearby village.

I stands for Ingvar, the first name of the IKEA founder. K is for Kamprad, his last name. E is for Elmtaryd, the name of the farm where Ingvar grew up, and A is for Agunnaryd, the name of the parish in Småland, Ingvar's home village. Elmtaryd farm is where Ingvar Kamprad grew up and started the IKEA business.

“Throughout history, furniture pieces were given the name of a monarch, such as Queen Anne or Louis XIV, to gain favor and influence,” he says. In modern times, naming furniture is just good marketing. “It's appealing and friendly to have a 'Jasmine Chair' in a catalog rather than the 'XY 9811. Y Chair,'” said Larosa.

To spell your name phonetically, break the parts of your names into syllables, capitalizing the letter sounds that one might emphasize when pronouncing your name. Include all letter sounds that might help a person say your name, even if those same sounds are not present in the actual spelling of your name.

Why does IKEA have such weird names? ›

The rather unusual naming scheme may appear to some as a quirky marketing strategy, but in reality it is because Kamprad suffered from dyslexia and by naming products on proper nouns, it became easier for him to remember them.

IKEA. IKEA is beloved around the world, but there's at least one place where it's illegal to name your baby after the furniture store: Its home country of Sweden.

“Naming your baby after Ikea furniture might seem ridiculous at first glance, but don't dismiss the idea,” she wrote. “Ikea is known for the charming Scandinavian names it gives its products and many work surprisingly well as baby names.”

The luxury and high-end sports car manufacturer Porsche was named the most commonly mispronounced brand overall — with 13,700 per month searching for “how to pronounce/how to say Porsche.” Commonly mistaken for Italian, Porsche is, in fact, German and means “offerings” in English.

However, it's a necessary process in order to make sure IKEA is keeping up with changing times. Therefore, you may see some articles with "Now or Never" beneath the item's name. This means the item has been discontinued and will not be returning. However, keep in mind a similar product may be available.

'blue shark'; colloquially anglicised as /ˈblɑːhɑːʒ/, /ˈblɑːhɑː/ or /ˈbloʊhaɪ/) is a plush toy manufactured and sold by the Swedish company IKEA.

Hemnes is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Korgen. Other villages include Bjerka, Bleikvasslia, Hemnesberget, and Sund.

イケア Romaji. ikea. Word Senses. Parts of speech noun (common) (futsuumeishi) Ikea (housewares store)

What is code red IKEA? ›

Red: Your item is unavailable with your preferred method, but you can see if it's available with another. Try checking a different IKEA store, Click & Collect, or home delivery.

Unfortunately, our HEMNES bedroom pieces in gray-brown have been discontinued.

“To create a better everyday life for the many people.” This vision goes beyond home furnishing. We want to have a positive impact on the world – from the communities where we source our raw materials to the way our products help our customers live a more sustainable life at home.

Instead, a couch was very similar to a traditional daybed or chaise longue. The name likely came from the french word coucher, meaning to sleep. The word couch is still widely used across the USA to describe a sofa.

Without chairs or bedding, the Japanese generally used the floor to sit and sleep on. This is because the Japanese believe in the concept of ma, or negative space, and a desire for simplicity. Objects would be placed very far apart, as the traditional Japanese believed that this space encouraged creativity.

The 1950s is the first decade of what most consider the start of retro furniture. The furnishings from this decade feature the growing influence of modern furniture.

Vispring (pronounced "vaispring") is no ordinary bed manufacturer. Vispring is consistently opposed to the mass production of identical beds.

Just Ask (Politely)

So they're unlikely to get offended if you straight up ask how to pronounce it. With that said, an uncommon name to you may be very common to someone else, so make sure you're approaching this correctly.

Miss Manners: Repeatedly mispronouncing a name is disrespectful.

"It's important to politely set it straight from the beginning so you don't have to have an increasingly awkward conversation down the line," Gottsman says. "Simply be honest and inform them of the correct version of your name the first time you hear them say it wrong." Unsurprisingly, directness is your best bet.

What is a rarest girl name? ›

Antidisestablishmentarianism. For most people, it's the longest word they know. For others, it's a bona fide tongue twister at a whopping total 28 letters and 13 syllables.

IKEA is named after the initials of founder Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd, the farm on which he grew up, and Agunnaryd, the nearby village. "

As it turns out, IKEA isn't just a fun, Scandinavian word, it's actually an acronym—Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd.

The IKEA story began in the Swedish town of Älmhult in the 1940s, with an enterprising boy who hoped to improve the lives of people everywhere. Here you follow the development of IKEA, decade for decade.

Sweden. Under its “Naming Law,” which regulates what first names are acceptable to give babies, Sweden blocked Ikea, Veranda, Superman, Elvis and Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 (pronounced Albin, of course).

IKEA is the name of a popular Scandinavian-founded, worldwide furniture store. The acronym that makes up the name stands for Ingvar Kamprad (the founder's name), Elmtaryd (the farm where the founder grew up), and Agunnaryd (the founder's hometown).

Swedes call their land Sverige, which means "land of the Svea." The Svea began to make raids along the coasts of northern Europe and became known as Vikings, which means "pirate" in an old Norse language.

FF is a consonant. To make the sound: Rest your top teeth lightly on your bottom lip and feel them tickling slightly as you make the sound. The sound [f] is made with the breath.

Step into IKEA and of course you are met by all kinds of furniture and other stuff, but not before you're greeted with a huge Hej!, Swedish for 'hello', at the store entrance. You might say that the entire corporate culture exists in this hej.

What is the longest word in Swedish? ›

Swedish is known for its long compound words, the longest, according to Svenska Akademiska ordlista, is 'realisationsvinstbeskattning' (28 letters) meaning capital gains tax. Another word which fascinates global linguists is 'världsschlager' – a rare word because it has eight consonants in a row.

Many Swedes are proud of IKEA, which currently has 300 stores in 38 countries. Like a number of other companies, IKEA uses Swedish culture as part of its marketing strategy. The company tells stories about Sweden that Swedes as well as non-Swedes recognise and identify with.

Moving from Sweden to Switzerland

In order to avoid wealth taxes in Sweden, Kamprad moved from Sweden to Switzerland in 1973, where he spent more than 40 years building the IKEA-empire.