אתה זוכר אותו מהאוניברסיטה, או שאתה לא מכיר אותו?

Do you remember him from the university, or do you not know him?

Breakdown of אתה זוכר אותו מהאוניברסיטה, או שאתה לא מכיר אותו?

• אתה: you
• לא: not
• או: or
• אוניברסיטה: university

Questions & Answers about אתה זוכר אותו מהאוניברסיטה, או שאתה לא מכיר אותו?

What is the difference between זוכר and מכיר in this sentence?

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.

Why does Hebrew use מכיר for know him instead of יודע?

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.

What exactly does אותו mean here?