How to say "avatar" in Japanese

• 権化ごんげCommon
  nounCovers the religious sense of avatar: a Buddha or bodhisattva appearing in the world in human form. Figuratively it calls someone the very embodiment of a quality — an emphatic way to describe character.
• 化身けしんCommon
  suru verb, no-adjective, intransitive verbThe broader word: a Buddha or deity taking bodily form, or figuratively the personification of a quality; it also means impersonation. The more general term, and the safer choice for most senses of avatar.
  彼かれは利己りこ主義しゅぎの化身けしんだ。↗

  He is the personification of selfishness.

化身 is the general word for avatar, whether a deity incarnate or a quality personified; 権化 is the narrower, more emphatic option, centered on the incarnation of a Buddha or bodhisattva.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 権化ごんげincarnation (of Buddha or bodhisattva)
• 化身けしんincarnation
• アバターavatar (incarnation of an immortal being in Hindu)
• 化現けげんmanifesting in a bodily form (of a god or Buddha)
• 化人けにんmanifesting in human form (of a Buddha or Bodhisattva)