文官是负责军事以外范畴的官吏之统称，东亚传统政治以文治为主，因此负责政治方面的官员一般为文官，相对为负责军事的武官。

于现代，「文官」一词常被用来代指民选公职或是官派公职，例如国会议员等。

In general, a civilian is "a person who is not a member of the military or of a police or firefighting force", as defined by Merriam Webster's Dictionary. The term also includes chaplains and medical personnel who are not part of the organizations mentioned in the preceding sentence, as well as those who are not perpetrators, in order to distinguish between those who are law-abiding people and those who are dedicated criminals. From the U.S. Department of Defense perspective, Chapter 18 of Title 10 United States Code refers to non-military law enforcement officers as civilians, since they are employees rather than enlisted personnel, and also in order to distinguish itself from military police. In military and law enforcement slang, the term "Civies" or "Civvies" are often used to refer civilian population or civilian clothing.