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Trådfri literally translated is "threadless" but it can probably be interpreted as cordless as well. I've never heard anyone say "trådfri" before. The normal w

Trådfri literally translated is "threadless" but it can probably be interpreted as cordless as well. I've never heard anyone say "trådfri" before. The normal word would be "sladdlös" at least where I'm from.

mercer 10y ago
It would feel similarly odd in Dutch. Perhaps they tested both names and the former 'sounded' nicer in other languages?
- MandieD 10y ago
  Similar in German: "drahtlos" is the real word, but "drahtfrei" is understandable, and conveys being freed from something. "einwandfrei": a thing free of problems or restrictions
mongol 10y ago
It is certainly a brand name made from a literal translation of wireless. Although "trådlös" (without wires) is the normal Swedish translation.
- wingerlang 10y ago
  Yeah, "trådlös" is more common than "sladdlös", just forgot about that word for some reason.
slau 10y ago
Trådfri is valid Danish for "wire free", as far as I can tell. This being said, I don't know whether it's idiomatic. Men min dansk er ikke så godt, så... I think it might be a clever IKEA marketing trick: a lot of countries know exactly what it means (I would assume that most of Scandinavia, and the Germanic languages would be able to figure it out). For the others, it's just another random Scandinavian word and orthography to remember.
- asjo 10y ago
  In Danish you would say "trådløs" for cordless. "Trådfri" is not used, but it is easy to understand the meaning.
iiv 10y ago
Where I live (eastern Sweden) we all say "trådlös", so almost "trådfri". But IKEA have many names that either sound like gibberish or are just strange.
- wingerlang 10y ago
  Oh, "trådlös" is probably the most common one actually, now that you mention it. Completely forgot about that word for some reason.
- Xylakant 10y ago
  It's hard to trademark common or idiomatic words. So using words that are almost right makes sense.
- moogly 10y ago
  'Trådlös' is the usual way to say it. Though arguably '-lös' (-'less') could be construed as having a negative connotation, whereas '-fri' ('-free') has a positive one. That's probably why they went with 'Trådfri'.
vidarh 10y ago
Almost all Ikea product names are either place names or Swedish words that are somewhat but not always directly/logically connected to the product. Given how tenuous some of the connections can be, I'm assuming they're often picked with more emphasis on how they sound/read/works in other countries rather than precision. I live in London, and the most entertaining part about visiting my local Ikea is hearing English people trying to pronounce the product names...
- qqg3 10y ago
  I'm struggling with the 'a' in this one which has the weird accent, "å". I have no idea what that accent above the 'a' is indicating.
  - p0ppe 10y ago
    Most of the time it's pronounced as the "a" in ball.
kwhitefoot 10y ago
IKEA uses Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish. They have a bed named after the Norwegian town I live in. trådfri sounds like half Danish half Norwegian to me; English cordless or wireless is Norwegian trådløs.

mercer 10y ago

It would feel similarly odd in Dutch. Perhaps they tested both names and the former 'sounded' nicer in other languages?

MandieD 10y ago
Similar in German: "drahtlos" is the real word, but "drahtfrei" is understandable, and conveys being freed from something. "einwandfrei": a thing free of problems or restrictions

mongol 10y ago

It is certainly a brand name made from a literal translation of wireless. Although "trådlös" (without wires) is the normal Swedish translation.

wingerlang 10y ago
Yeah, "trådlös" is more common than "sladdlös", just forgot about that word for some reason.

slau 10y ago

Trådfri is valid Danish for "wire free", as far as I can tell. This being said, I don't know whether it's idiomatic. Men min dansk er ikke så godt, så... I think it might be a clever IKEA marketing trick: a lot of countries know exactly what it means (I would assume that most of Scandinavia, and the Germanic languages would be able to figure it out). For the others, it's just another random Scandinavian word and orthography to remember.

asjo 10y ago
In Danish you would say "trådløs" for cordless. "Trådfri" is not used, but it is easy to understand the meaning.

iiv 10y ago

Where I live (eastern Sweden) we all say "trådlös", so almost "trådfri". But IKEA have many names that either sound like gibberish or are just strange.

wingerlang 10y ago
Oh, "trådlös" is probably the most common one actually, now that you mention it. Completely forgot about that word for some reason.
Xylakant 10y ago
It's hard to trademark common or idiomatic words. So using words that are almost right makes sense.
moogly 10y ago
'Trådlös' is the usual way to say it. Though arguably '-lös' (-'less') could be construed as having a negative connotation, whereas '-fri' ('-free') has a positive one. That's probably why they went with 'Trådfri'.

vidarh 10y ago

Almost all Ikea product names are either place names or Swedish words that are somewhat but not always directly/logically connected to the product. Given how tenuous some of the connections can be, I'm assuming they're often picked with more emphasis on how they sound/read/works in other countries rather than precision. I live in London, and the most entertaining part about visiting my local Ikea is hearing English people trying to pronounce the product names...

qqg3 10y ago
I'm struggling with the 'a' in this one which has the weird accent, "å". I have no idea what that accent above the 'a' is indicating.
- p0ppe 10y ago
  Most of the time it's pronounced as the "a" in ball.

kwhitefoot 10y ago

IKEA uses Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish. They have a bed named after the Norwegian town I live in. trådfri sounds like half Danish half Norwegian to me; English cordless or wireless is Norwegian trådløs.