avatar
av·a·tar/ˌæv.əˈtɑː(ɹ)/noun
avatar is spelled A-V-A-T-A-R: 6 letters and 3 syllables (av·a·tar). It appears 4.9 times per million words in written English, the 11,373rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Avatar, the name). As a noun, avatar means “An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of avatar is avatars.
How many letters and syllables are in avatar?
| Letters | 6: A-V-A-T-A-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: av·a·tar |
| In writing | 4.9 times per million words; the 11,373rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is avatar?
Avatar appears 4.9 times per million words in written English, the 11,373rd most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Avatar, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce avatar?
- /ˌæv.əˈtɑː(ɹ)/
- /ˈæv.ə.tɑː(ɹ)/
- /-θɑː(ɹ)/
Avatar has 3 syllables, split av·a·tar in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-avatar.wav, En-us-avatar.ogg, En-au-avatar.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of avatar
- avatars plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does avatar mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.
- 2
One which serves to act in place of or on behalf of the entity; a simulacrum.
- 3
The embodiment of an idea or concept; an instantiation, especially an incarnation or personification.
- 4
One which serves as the means through which the entity interacts with its environment; a player character or host.
- 5
A graphical representation of a user or persona; used in reference to any digital environment, but especially nonmetaversal ones.
- 6
A character model, used virtually as an emulation of a user or their persona.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Avatar in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | avatar, incarnation , matérialisation, personnification, allégorie |
| German | Avatar, Avatara, Herabkunft, Inkarnation , Verkörperung |
| Portuguese | avatar , personificação |
| Spanish | avatar, encarnación , materialización, personificación , emblema |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does avatar come from?
Borrowed from Hindustani अवतार (avtār) / اوتار (avtār), from Sanskrit अवतार (avatāra, “descent of a deity from a heaven”), a compound of अव (ava, “off, away, down”) and the vṛddhi-stem of the root तॄ (tṝ, “to cross”) (whence तरति (tarati)). First attested in c. 1784 in The Hindu Wife or The Enchanted Fruit, by William Jones.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).