Dictionary translates 'duck' as 'anatra' and 'anitra'. I googled for difference explanation and found in this topic that Italians use 'papera'. So, how should I call duck in Italian?
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3We also have the masculine form papero. By the way, Disney ducks are considered paperi in Italian. Donald Duck is Paperino, Scrooge McDuck is Paperon de' Paperoni and so on.– DaGOct 20, 2017 at 10:28
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@DaG: And a "rubber duck" is also "una papera di gomma" or "una paperella di gomma"?– Charo ♦May 22, 2020 at 21:24
1 Answer
Anatra refers to the wild animal while papera refers to the same animal considered as a pet.
From Treccani:
Il germano reale (Anas platyrhynchos) e l'oca selvatica (Anser anser) sono allevati da almeno 2.500 anni e hanno dato origine rispettivamente all'anatra domestica, detta anche papera, e all'oca domestica.
Anitra is an old fashioned word for anatra.
So you can use both (even if I prefer anatra for duck)
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Google translation: 'The royal jellyfish and the wild goose have been bred for at least 2,500 years and have given birth to domestic ducks, also known as papera, and domestic goats.' I like this version =) Oct 20, 2017 at 10:37
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Seems ok, give or take a few random animals. :) Do you need a less fanciful translation?– DaGOct 20, 2017 at 10:57
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@LSerni: Do you feel this is all that's wrong with that translation by Google?– DaGOct 21, 2017 at 7:26
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@DaG, I did not pay attention to the "translation" at all. My mistake.– LSerniOct 21, 2017 at 9:36