אתה זוכר אותו מהאוניברסיטה, או שאתה לא מכיר אותו?

They are related, but not the same.

• זוכר means remember
• מכיר means know / be acquainted with / be familiar with

So the sentence is contrasting two possibilities:

• Do you remember him from university?
• Or do you not know him?

That implies a difference between:

• having met him before but not clearly remembering him, and
• not really knowing who he is at all

This is a very common distinction in Hebrew.

Because Hebrew uses different verbs for different kinds of knowing.

• להכיר → to know a person, place, or thing by familiarity
• לדעת → to know a fact, piece of information, or how to do something

So:

• אני מכיר אותו = I know him
• אני יודע מי הוא = I know who he is
• אני יודע לשחות = I know how to swim

In this sentence, since it is about whether you are acquainted with a person, מכיר is the correct verb.

אותו means him here.

More literally, it combines:

• the direct-object marker את
• with the pronoun הוא

So אותו is the masculine singular direct object pronoun: him or sometimes it.

In this sentence, because the reference is to a person, it means him.

Because both verbs take the same object:

• אתה זוכר אותו = you remember him
• אתה לא מכיר אותו = you don’t know him

Hebrew normally repeats the object pronoun with each verb when each clause is complete on its own. English can sometimes avoid repetition more easily, but in Hebrew the repetition sounds natural and clear.

It is made of three parts:

• מ־ = from
• ה־ = the
• אוניברסיטה = university

Together:

• מהאוניברסיטה = from the university

So the speaker is asking whether you remember him from university.

Both are possible in Hebrew, but מהאוניברסיטה is the normal everyday form.

• מן האוניברסיטה is more formal or literary
• מהאוניברסיטה is the usual spoken and written modern form

So this is just a common contraction of מ־ + ה־.

Because ש־ is being used as a clause linker.

Here שאתה is really:

• ש־
  • אתה

After או, Hebrew often uses או ש... to introduce the second possibility:

• or that...
• more naturally in English: or...

So:

• או שאתה לא מכיר אותו = or you don’t know him

The ש־ often does not need a separate translation in English, but it helps connect the second clause naturally in Hebrew.

Because the sentence has two full clauses:

• אתה זוכר אותו מהאוניברסיטה
• או שאתה לא מכיר אותו

Repeating אתה makes the second clause complete and clear.

Also, in the Hebrew present tense, the verb usually does not clearly show person the way English does. For example:

• זוכר can mean remembering for I, you, or he, depending on context
• מכיר works the same way

So Hebrew often needs the subject pronoun like אתה to make the meaning clear.

Because they are masculine singular forms in the present tense.

• אתה זוכר = you (masculine singular) remember
• אתה מכיר = you (masculine singular) know

If you were talking to a woman, the sentence would change to:

• את זוכרת אותו מהאוניברסיטה, או שאת לא מכירה אותו?

So the verbs agree with the gender and number of the person being addressed.

To a woman:

• את זוכרת אותו מהאוניברסיטה, או שאת לא מכירה אותו?

To several men or a mixed group:

• אתם זוכרים אותו מהאוניברסיטה, או שאתם לא מכירים אותו?

To several women:

• אתן זוכרות אותו מהאוניברסיטה, או שאתן לא מכירות אותו?

So both the subject pronoun and the verb form change.

Yes. אותו is simply the masculine singular direct object pronoun.

So it can mean:

• him for a masculine person
• it for a masculine noun

In this sentence, context tells us it means him.

If the person were feminine, Hebrew would use אותה instead.

No, this is very normal Hebrew word order.

The structure is basically:

• subject + verb + object + extra information
• then a second clause after או ש־

So:

• אתה = subject
• זוכר = verb
• אותו = object
• מהאוניברסיטה = from university
• או שאתה לא מכיר אותו = second clause

You could change word order for emphasis in some contexts, but the version here is the most neutral and natural.

A simple pronunciation guide would be:

atá zokhér otó meha-universitá, o she-atá lo makír otó?

A few helpful notes:

• זוכר and מכיר have the throaty Hebrew kh sound in כ
• stress is usually near the end:
  • zokhér
  • otó
  • makír
  • universitá

So the rhythm is fairly natural and flowing once you get used to it.