Strategy: In English, the Swedish names of Ikea products mean everything from 'squirrel' to 'chubby' to 'giggle' — here are 11 of the quirkiest

At Ikea, furniture items are named after Swedish places. Chairs and desks have men's names. Children's items are named after mammals and birds.

If you're not a native speaker of Swedish — and even if you are — you might be confused as you walk around an IKEA store.

All the products are labeled with Swedish names that translate to words as diverse as "hoard" (Hopa) and "chubby" (Knubbig).

Business Insider has previously reported that IKEA relies on a special system to label its products, designed by its founder Ingvar Kamprad, who was dyslexic and didn't want to use numbers. For example, furniture items are named after Swedish places. Chairs and desks have men's names. Children's items are named after mammals and birds.

That doesn't really make things any less confusing for English-speaking customers, though. So it helps to take a look at this unofficial IKEA dictionary, created by Rubiks cube expert Lars Petrus. He cautions that in his dictionary, the definitions can be incomplete or wrong "since the words are deliberately ambigious, and several places have the same name," so we've cross-referenced them all with other sources.

Below, we've highlighted some of the quirkiest product names in the IKEA lexicon, along with their English translation and their corresponding product.

Bigaraå means 'white heart cherry'

At IKEA, Bigaraå is also a style of plant pot.

Dvala means 'hibernation.'

Dvala is also a type of sheet set at IKEA.

Ekorre means 'squirrel.'

One of the items in IKEA's Ekorre series is a set of suspension hooks.

Fjädrar means 'feathers.'

You can buy a Fjädrar inner cushion, which — no surprise here — is filled with duck feathers.

Fniss means 'giggle.'

IKEA's plastic trash can is called a Fniss.

Gullholmen means 'Gold Island,' an old fishing village on Sweden's West coast.

You can sit in a Gullholmen, IKEA's rocking chair made of banana fiber.

Krabb means 'choppy' (in sailor-speak).

At IKEA, a Krabb is a versatile mirror.

Norna is the name of a destiny goddess in Norse mythology.

IKEA's Norna is simply a chair pad.

Pruta means 'haggle.'

Pruta is a food container at IKEA.

Rabalder means 'hullaballoo.'

Stay organized with a Rabalder, or a cable organizer, from IKEA.

Ruter means 'diamonds,' as in the card suit.

IKEA's Ruter is an ironing board.

At Ikea, furniture items are named after Swedish places. Chairs and desks have men's names. Children's items are named after mammals and birds. Read Full Story