弗朗茨·卡夫卡（德文：Franz Kafka，1883年7月3日－1924年6月3日），是一位使用德语的小说和短篇故事家，被评论家们认为是20世纪作家中最具影响力的一位。卡夫卡的代表作品《变形记》、《审判》和《城堡》有着鲜明的主题并以现实生活中人的异化与隔阂、心灵上的凶残无情、亲子间的冲突、迷宫一般的官僚机构为原型。以及有着对人物角色恐怖的追求和使角色发生奇异般的转换在小说中都有所表现。

卡夫卡出生在布拉格（波西米亚王国的首都，后来是奥匈帝国的一部分）的一个中产阶级、讲德语的犹太家庭。卡夫卡在世时，布拉格的大多数人口都说捷克语，并且当时说捷克语的捷克人和说德语的奥地利人之间的分歧日趋明显。两种族群都在加强自己国家的认同感。聚居在布拉格犹太人则是介于两者之间。卡夫卡能流利地说这两门语言，并选择了德语为母语。

Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-language writer of novels and short stories who is widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work, which fuses elements of realism and the fantastic, typically features isolated protagonists faced by bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible social-bureaucratic powers, and has been interpreted as exploring themes of alienation, existential anxiety, guilt, and absurdity. His best known works include "Die Verwandlung" ("The Metamorphosis"), Der Process (The Trial), and Das Schloss (The Castle). The term Kafkaesque has entered the English language to describe situations like those in his writing.