Duck (derogatory term) (2025)

Hi forum!
I am sorry I'm posting this thread here since I don't speak a word of Chinese, but I hope you guys can be of help. I am translating a movie set in San Francisco 1878 - as you know right after the San Francisco Riot. So the plot is basically the aftermath of the riot and Chinese gangster vs Irish cops.

Unfortunately I don't have the original Chinese, just a probably crappy transcription, but I was wondering whether the word duck was an insult or not, in Chinese.
The Chinese people speak English most of the time and they often refer to the Americans / Irish cops as "ducks". I though it was a typo, but I don't think it is the case, or dumb + fuck (but is a philological nonsense), so... could it be a literal translation of a Chinese insult? Or is it a derogatory term typical of that period?
Thank you very much for your time!

RHG

Could you send me the link for the movie? How many minutes into the movie can I see this 'duck' part?

I have no idea what it means.

redhairedgirl said:

I was wondering whether the word duck was an insult or not, in Chinese.

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A "duck" can mean a "gigolo", but is not a general insult, so it's confusing indeed.

Hi! and thank you for your answers. I do not have a streaming link, since the series is to be released (at least here in Italy) but it is Warrior (here is the official website: Warrior – Watch Cinemax’s Original Drama Series Online | Cinemax) based on an idea by Bruce Lee. more and more hints lead me to think that it is a made-up word specifical to this series, not a mistranslation, non a literal translation. I am very happy to hear (well, read) your idea!
RHG

prudent260 said:

Could you send me the link for the movie?

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I could give you the movie script! Wait until I get home

I believe the word "duck" in the context you provided is an American racial slur of the late 19th century, not a translation of a Chinese derogatory expression.

A stereotypical duck (e.g., Donald Duck 唐老鴨，in which "Donald" suggests a Gaelic background) is a "white" (Caucasian) "bird" (one who gets around a lot) of "water" (boat person) that makes semi-intelligible speech (e.g., quackquack, Irish twang) and walks funny (e.g., with bowed legs and a swinging gait, as if learned from prior experience of wearing leg irons in prison).

44% of the Sydney Ducks (name of a San Francisco street gang whose members were mostly white criminal immigrants straight off the boat) were born in Ireland and migrated first to Australia and then to California. The name Sydney Ducks is an exonym--a derogatory moniker coined by outsiders.

The government police of San Francisco in the 19th century were notoriously corrupt. Many Irish cops were racists (as portraited in the TV series Warrior) and in cahoots with gangsters (e.g., the Sydney Ducks).

redhairedgirl said:

Hi forum!
I am sorry I'm posting this thread here since I don't speak a word of Chinese, but I hope you guys can be of help. I am translating a movie set in San Francisco 1878 - as you know right after the San Francisco Riot. So the plot is basically the aftermath of the riot and Chinese gangster vs Irish cops.

Unfortunately I don't have the original Chinese, just a probably crappy transcription, but I was wondering whether the word duck was an insult or not, in Chinese.
The Chinese people speak English most of the time and they often refer to the Americans / Irish cops as "ducks". I though it was a typo, but I don't think it is the case, or dumb + fuck (but is a philological nonsense), so... could it be a literal translation of a Chinese insult? Or is it a derogatory term typical of that period?
Thank you very much for your time!

RHG

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In Warrior from Cinemax, the label of "duck" was used as an artistic choice of derogatory fictional colloquialism for caucasians in this show about racial tensions in 19th century San Francisco. There is an article online where the show runners are interviewed and mentioned that it was selected because the caucasians lived in an area referred to as "the pond" and ducks are often seen in ponds. the term Onion was made up by the writers also to refer to Chinese by other Chinese...duck and onion are not used this way commonly as mentioned in other comments

I believe it is a slangish language particularly used by the gang in the show, there might be some historical reasons.

On a side note, in modern mandarin, duck 鸭子, is a slang means male prostitute.

redhairedgirl said:

Hi forum!
I am sorry I'm posting this thread here since I don't speak a word of Chinese, but I hope you guys can be of help. I am translating a movie set in San Francisco 1878 - as you know right after the San Francisco Riot. So the plot is basically the aftermath of the riot and Chinese gangster vs Irish cops.

Unfortunately I don't have the original Chinese, just a probably crappy transcription, but I was wondering whether the word duck was an insult or not, in Chinese.
The Chinese people speak English most of the time and they often refer to the Americans / Irish cops as "ducks". I though it was a typo, but I don't think it is the case, or dumb + fuck (but is a philological nonsense), so... could it be a literal translation of a Chinese insult? Or is it a derogatory term typical of that period?
Thank you very much for your time!

RHG

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The word Onion was used because they had bald heads with a pony tail which looked like an onion. The Irish were called ducks because of the 1980s tv series Duck Tails. Scrooge McDuck was Irish and the Chinese really like the show Duck Tails.

JohnChinaman said:

The word Onion was used because they had bald heads with a pony tail which looked like an onion. The Irish were called ducks because of the 1980s tv series Duck Tails. Scrooge McDuck was Irish and the Chinese really like the show Duck Tails.

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Scrooge McDuck is not Irish at all.
He is Scottish (very different things), and it's a distinctly classic Scottish characterisation and a play on words to also refer to the character of Ebineezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carl' novel - which has seen numerous film adaptations since its inception like the two best known being the 1970 version with Albert Finney, and the 1984 version with George C Scott.

It's basically based on the old stereotypical classic adage of the Scotsman 'on the make', being shrewd and 'tight fisted' - very classically Scottish stereotypes, which is like Ebineezer Scrooge.