burner / distiller / Brenner Pass
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burner
A device that produces a flame or heat by burning a fuel such as gas or oil. It is used for heating, cooking, or technical purposes.
Der Gasherd hat vier Brenner unterschiedlicher Größe.
The gas stove has four burners of different sizes.
'Der Brenner' is derived from the verb 'brennen' (to burn). The ending '-er' denotes a person or device that performs the action. A Brenner is therefore something that burns (heating), someone who distills schnapps, or a device that 'burns' CDs.
Mein Computer hat keinen Brenner mehr, um CDs zu erstellen.
My computer no longer has a disc burner for creating CDs.
The four main meanings are very different and become clear through context. Pay attention to whether the topic is cooking/heating, alcohol, computers, or geography/traffic.
Der Brenner der Heizung muss gewartet werden.
The heater's burner needs to be serviced.
In the computer context, the related verb is also 'brennen' (to burn). People say 'eine CD brennen' (to burn a CD) or 'Daten auf eine DVD brennen' (to burn data onto a DVD).
Kannst du mir diese Musiktitel auf eine CD brennen?
Can you burn these music tracks onto a CD for me?
When people speak of 'dem Brenner' (the Brenner), they often mean the Brenner Pass, an important Alpine pass between Austria and Italy. In traffic reports, the short form 'der Brenner' is usually used.
Wir fahren im Urlaub über den Brenner nach Italien.
We're going to Italy on vacation via the Brenner Pass.
drive / running gear
'der Brenner' and 'das Laufwerk' can both mean a device in a computer that works with CDs, DVDs, or Blu-rays. The important difference is: a 'Laufwerk' can read data and sometimes also write it. A 'Brenner' is more specific and can write data to a disc. So a 'Brenner' can be a 'Laufwerk', but not every 'Laufwerk' is a 'Brenner'. There is a risk of confusion when talking generally about a CD or DVD device.
Mit diesem Brenner kann Max die Fotos auf eine DVD schreiben.
With this disc burner, Max can write the photos to a DVD.
Nach dem Update erkennt der Computer das externe Laufwerk wieder.
After the update, the computer recognizes the external drive again.