how to say “familiar” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/מוכר-#.m4a” /]מוּכָּר

To know in the intellectual sense is לדעת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/מוכר-#.m4a” /]. But to know someone or something in the sense of familiarity, recognition – that’s להכיר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/מוכר-#.m4a” /].

For example:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/מוכר-#.m4a” /]אני מכיר את השיר הזה!

I (a male) know this song!

להכיר is a הפעיל verb of the root נ.כ.ר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/מוכר-#.m4a” /], which is the idea of foreignness: when I know someone or something, it becomes unforeign to me.

Likewise, the person or object known or familiar to me is מוכר[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/מוכר-#.m4a” /] (if grammatically masculine) or מוכרת[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/מוכר-#.m4a” /] (if grammatically feminine).

For example:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/מוכר-#.m4a” /]את מוכרת לי, אבל אני לא מצליח להבין מאיפה.

You (a female) look familiar to me, but I (a male) can’t figure out (understand) from where.

מוכר and מוכרת are in the הופעל form, which is the passive opposite of הפעיל.