Járás

Járás is a Hungarian noun with several related meanings depending on context. In everyday language, it most commonly denotes gait or the act of walking, describing how a person moves on foot. Gait is characterized by factors such as tempo, rhythm, stride length, and stability, and the term is used in medicine and biomechanics when analyzing locomotion or diagnosing walking disorders.

In the administrative and governmental vocabulary of Hungary, járás also refers to a district within a county. A járás groups several municipalities and functions as a level of government between the county and local communities. Each járás has a district office (járási hivatal) that handles specified state tasks for its area, including civil administration and coordination of public services across the municipalities. The district structure was introduced as part of administrative reforms in the 2010s and remains subject to reform and adjustment by legislation.

Etymology: the word derives from the verb járni “to go, to walk,” with the nominalizing suffix -ás, yielding a generic sense of “the act of going” or “the act of walking.”