אני רואה אותן בכל בוקר ליד התחנה, אבל אני לא מכירה אותן.

אותן means them when referring to a feminine plural direct object.

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about seeing and knowing them, and them must refer to a group of females or to feminine plural nouns.

Hebrew direct object pronouns change for gender and number:

• אותו = him / it (masculine singular)
• אותה = her / it (feminine singular)
• אותם = them (masculine or mixed plural)
• אותן = them (feminine plural)

So אני רואה אותן = I see them.

Because אותן is an object pronoun, while הן is a subject pronoun.

Compare:

• הן רואות אותי = They see me
  Here הן is the subject: they
• אני רואה אותן = I see them
  Here אותן is the object: them

English does this too:

• They see me
• I see them

So Hebrew is making the same kind of distinction.

Because the two verbs mean different things:

• רואה = see / am seeing
• מכירה = know / am familiar with / am acquainted with

So the sentence means something like:

• I see them every morning ליד התחנה, but I don’t know them.

In Hebrew, להכיר often means to know a person / be acquainted with someone, not just to know a fact.

This is an important distinction:

• אני מכירה אותה = I know her
• אני יודעת את התשובה or more naturally אני יודעת את התשובה = I know the answer

So for people, להכיר is very common.

Because Hebrew often uses להכיר for knowing a person.

A native English speaker may want to translate I don’t know them with אני לא יודעת אותן, but that sounds wrong or unnatural if you mean I’m not acquainted with them.

Use:

• להכיר = to know someone / be acquainted with
• לדעת = to know information, facts, how to do something

Examples:

• אני לא מכירה אותם = I don’t know them
• אני לא יודעת איפה הם גרים = I don’t know where they live

Yes. מכירה shows that the speaker is female singular.

In the present tense, Hebrew verbs agree with gender and number:

• אני מכיר = I know / am acquainted with... (male speaker)
• אני מכירה = I know / am acquainted with... (female speaker)

So this sentence is being said by a woman.

Good question. In unpointed Hebrew, רואה can represent both:

• masculine singular pronunciation: ro'eh
• feminine singular pronunciation: ro'ah

So the spelling looks the same, even though the pronunciation is different.

That means:

• a male speaker could say אני רואה
• a female speaker could also write אני רואה

But later in the sentence, מכירה clearly shows the speaker is female, so we understand the first verb as feminine too.

Yes, Hebrew could leave it out, but repeating אני is very natural and often clearer.

The sentence says:

• אני רואה אותן... אבל אני לא מכירה אותן

Literally:

• I see them... but I don’t know them

Hebrew often repeats the subject after אבל (but), especially when starting a new clause. It sounds normal and helps mark the contrast clearly.

You might also hear:

• אני רואה אותן בכל בוקר ליד התחנה, אבל לא מכירה אותן

But the version with the second אני is fuller and very natural.

Literally, בכל בוקר means in every morning, but in natural English it means every morning.

Breakdown:

• ב־ = in / at
• כל = every / all
• בוקר = morning

Together:

• בכל בוקר = every morning

This is a common Hebrew expression. English does not use in here, but Hebrew does.

Yes, כל בוקר is also possible and common.

Both can mean every morning, but:

• כל בוקר = very straightforward every morning
• בכל בוקר = also every morning, sometimes with a slight sense of on every single morning / each morning

In many everyday contexts, the difference is small.

ליד התחנה means near the station or next to the station.

Breakdown:

• ליד = near / beside / next to
• התחנה = the station

So:

• ליד התחנה = near the station

Because the sentence means the station, not just a station.

• תחנה = station
• התחנה = the station

The ה־ at the beginning is the definite article, like the in English.

So:

• ליד תחנה would mean something like near a station, which sounds less specific
• ליד התחנה = near the station, a specific station the speaker has in mind

Yes, Hebrew could sometimes omit the second אותן if the meaning is obvious from context, but repeating it is very natural.

Compare:

• אבל אני לא מכירה אותן = but I don’t know them
• אבל אני לא מכירה = but I’m not acquainted / but I don’t know
  This feels less complete unless the context already makes the object very clear.

So the repetition helps keep the sentence clear and balanced.

In this sentence, the best translation is usually know in the sense of be acquainted with.

Depending on context, להכיר can mean:

• know someone
• be familiar with
• recognize
• get to know (in some forms and contexts)

Here, because the speaker sees them regularly but says אני לא מכירה אותן, the idea is:

• I see them every morning, but I don’t actually know them

So I’m not acquainted with them is the fuller explanation, even if simple English usually just says I don’t know them.

The basic structure is:

• אני = subject
• רואה / מכירה = verb
• אותן = object
• בכל בוקר / ליד התחנה = time/place expressions
• אבל = but

So the sentence is:

• אני רואה אותן בכל בוקר ליד התחנה, אבל אני לא מכירה אותן.

Very literally:

• I see them every morning near the station, but I do not know them.

This word order is normal and natural in Hebrew.