civil

Compared meaning: not military, relating to ordinary citizens (adjective).

比较义项：非军事的、与普通公民或政府机构相关的（形容词）。

• civil 本词

  Civil typically comes before abstract nouns such as service, rights, or aviation, meaning relating to ordinary citizens or civilian authority, as opposed to military or religious institutions; it rarely describes a person directly.

  civil 通常出现在 service（部门）、rights（权利）、aviation（航空）等抽象名词之前，表示与普通公民或政府机构有关，而非军事或宗教机构；它很少直接用来描述某个人。

  She has worked in the civil service for over twenty years.

  她在公务员部门工作了二十多年。

• civilian

  Civilian describes a person (a civilian) or things belonging to non-military people, such as clothes, life, or casualties; it directly labels a person's status, unlike civil.

  civilian 用于描述某个人（a civilian，平民）或属于非军人的事物，如衣物、生活或伤亡人员；它直接标明一个人的身份，这一点与 civil 不同。

  After the war, he swapped his uniform for civilian clothes.

  战争结束后，他脱下军装换上了便装。

Civil and civilian both mean not military. Civil usually comes before abstract nouns like service, rights, or aviation, meaning relating to citizens or civilian authority. Civilian describes a person, or things belonging to ordinary people, like clothes or life, and directly labels a person's status.

civil 和 civilian 在这个义项上都表示“与军事无关”，但用法不同：civil 常搭配 service、rights、aviation 等抽象名词，指与公民或政府机构相关的事务；civilian 常指人本身（a civilian）或属于普通人的事物，如衣物、生活。这里不比较 civil 的其他义项，如“礼貌的”或法律上的“民事的”。

Compared meaning: polite, not rude (adjective).

比较义项：有礼貌、不粗鲁（形容词）。

• civil 本词

  Implies just barely courteous, especially despite disagreement, dislike or tension; formal register; common in phrases like 'stay civil', 'civil discussion', 'on civil terms'.

  强调即使存在分歧、不满或紧张关系，也保持最基本的礼貌和克制；语体较正式；常用于“保持礼貌”“civil discussion（文明的讨论）”“civil terms（还算客气的关系）”等搭配。

  The two rivals stayed civil during the debate, even though they clearly disliked each other.

  尽管这两位对手显然互相看不顺眼，他们在辩论中还是保持了基本的礼貌。

• polite

  The everyday, general word for good manners and genuine consideration for others' feelings; not tied to conflict or restraint, used in ordinary friendly situations too.

  是最常用、最普通的“有礼貌”一词，指举止得体、真心为他人着想；不像 civil 那样带有“克制、勉强容忍”的意味，日常友好场合也常用。

  It's polite to say thank you when someone helps you.

  别人帮助你时说声谢谢是有礼貌的表现。

Civil and polite both mean polite, not rude. Civil implies just barely courteous, especially despite disagreement or dislike; it is formal, as in 'stay civil' or 'civil discussion'. Polite is the everyday word for good manners and consideration for others' feelings, not tied to conflict.

这两个词在“有礼貌”这一义项上很接近，但语气不同：civil 强调即使双方有分歧或矛盾，也保持基本的克制与礼貌，语气偏正式、克制；polite 是日常最常用的词，指真心考虑他人感受、举止得体，适用范围更广。这里不比较 civil 的“非军事的、民事的”（如 civil war、civil rights）等义项。