Shangri-La
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Shangri-La¹
- /ˌʃæŋɡɹɪˈlɑː/
Rhymes with -ɑː
Where it comes from
From a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton (1900–1954): see the quotation below. A Tibetan origin has been suggested, from ཞང (zhang, “name of a district of Ü-Tsang”) + རི (ri, “mountain”) + ལ (la, “pass”), therefore meaning "Mountain Pass of Zhang District".
noun Shangri-Las · Shangri-la
- A place or land of complete bliss, delight, and peace, especially one seen as an escape from ordinary life; a paradise. He spoke a kind of Chinese that I don't understand very well, but I think he said something about a lamasery near here—along the valley, I gathered—where we could get food and shelter. Shangri-La, he called it. La is Tibetan for mountain-pass. He was most emphatic that we should go there.
-
An opulent building or resort that provides entertainment or luxurious living.
Well-known architects of the day, like Willis Polk, Albert Farr and Julia Morgan, designed some of the early mansions. Gordon Blanding, millionaire patron of the arts, bought the island's southern tip and built a Shangri La for his San Francisco friends.
Similar: pleasure palace, pleasuredome, Xanadu
proper noun Shangri-la
- A county-level city of Diqing prefecture, Yunnan, China. This article therefore draws attention to local villagers and tourists who took part in my 2013 ethnographic fieldwork in Niru Village, Shangri-La City, Southwest China.
- Former name of Camp David.
Shangri-la²
noun Shangri-las
- Alternative letter-case form of Shangri-La He couldn't believe it when he'd discovered there actually was a town called Bedford Falls. It seemed like fans of the film had all collected there to live out their lives in a self-created 1940s American Shangri-la.
Translations
Every language
noun a place of complete bliss, delight, and peace
| 한국어 | 샹그릴라 Syanggeurilla |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | シャングリラ Shangurira |
| 中文 | 香格里拉 Xiānggélǐlā, 世外桃源 shìwàitáoyuán |
| Português | Xangrilá, Xangri-lá |
| Français | Shangri-La |
| Русский | Шангри-Ла́ Šangri-Lá |
| Tiếng Việt | cõi bồng lai, chốn bồng lai, Hương Cách Lý Lạp, Hương Cách Lí Lạp |
| العربية | شَانْغْرِيلَا šanḡrilā, شَانْغْرِيلَا šangrilā |
Talk about this word "Shangri-La." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/shangri-la. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. Shangri-La. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/shangri-la "Shangri-La." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/shangri-la.Cite this
@misc{shangri_la_2026,
title = {Shangri-La},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/shangri-la},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
