How to pronounce BILLY, and what it means
BILLY is the name of an IKEA bookcase. Here is how Swedes say it, and what the name means.
Person's name
BILLY
BIL-lee
- Product
- Bookcase
- The name
- A boy's name. The bookcase was named after Billy Liljedahl, an IKEA advertising manager who asked for "a proper bookcase just for books".
How to say BILLY
Say BIL-lee, stressing the syllable in capitals. The Listen button reads it with your device's Swedish voice.
The sounds to watch in BILLY:
- Y is a vowel: say "ee" with your lips rounded tightly, as if to whistle.
- A double consonant (ck counts as kk) makes the vowel before it short and the consonant held a little longer.
Our guide to Swedish pronunciation explains these sounds in more detail, and the Swedish keyboard lets you type å, ä and ö.
Why it is called BILLY
Some IKEA product families carry first names: bookcases and shelving often get men's names, and fabrics and curtains have often had women's names.
Sources
Lingolib is not affiliated with IKEA. IKEA and product names are trademarks of Inter IKEA Systems B.V.