#14. 프로 불만러 -- How to say "he complains all the time" in five letters

Once, when I was frequenting a small DC Inside gallery (a Korean equivalent of a subreddit), I got to recognize the handle of this one particular user. He came by the "갤" (how the Koreans call galleries on DC Inside) all the time,  always armed with a new story of how the world has done him some injustice. He was very good at extracting hidden meaning from a mundane gesture. How this stranger walked past him on the street without acknowledging his presence, probably because this stranger was hell-bent on offending him. How his professor assigned him an unfair grade. How his lunch portion was smaller than his friend's portion.

We soon took to mocking him by saying things like

프로 불만러 또 오셨어요?

The word "프로 불만러" is made up of three parts: "프로 + 불만 + 러."

The word "프로" comes from the shortened English word "professional." While the shortened form "pro" is only used in informal context in the anglophone culture, it can be used even in formal context in Korea. For example, a professional golfer is called "프로 골퍼," and this word is acceptable even in your school report. When you want to compliment someone's professionalism, you could also say "정말 프로네요," and this usage is also completely sanctioned in any setting.

The word "불만" is a standard Korean word meaning "complaint."

The word "-러" comes from the English suffix "-er," which denotes the person doing a particular activity. For example, someone who calls is called a "caller"; there are many other usages in English, such as "swimmer," "golfer," "player," and so on. It is unclear why "-러" was chosen instead of "-어" or "-머," but it just seems that the "-러" ending sounds the best in most contexts.

Putting these words together, you can see that we were mocking this particular user that he was a "professional complainer."

This is a word that combines English and Korean. Usually the words that contain both English and Korean have a humorous undertone (for example, 발퀄 or 이불킥). While this word also has a slight humour to it, there is also a lot of overt sarcasm, and I would say that this sarcasm is the dominant feeling in this word.

As usual, the Koreans are masters at modifying and adapting internet neologism. You should also feel free to replace the word "불만" by other words of your choice to appropriately describe your situation! Here are some other examples that are commonly used on the internet:

• 프로 불편러: The word "불편" could mean "inconvenience," but in this case, it refers more to the word "discomfort." These people find offense in every statement uttered in the name of some cause. For example, someone might be upset that the women's bathrooms are always on the left-hand side of the men's bathroom, whereas gender equality should mean that they should be on the left side only half the time...? This is a word with a fairly negative connotation, and they are only used when someone is being unreasonable, not when that someone is advocating for a just cause.
• 프로 질문러: When someone is full of questions, you could call this person "프로 질문러." Because there is no negative connotation in the word "질문," (compare this to "discomfort" or "complaints"!) this word has a more humorous undertone compared to the previous two examples.
• 프로 실망러: These kinds of people find disappointments in everything. Maybe because they have high expectations, or maybe because of their personality. Depending on the context of how the "실망" or "disappointments" are found, this word may be humorous or more sarcastic, so you have to make the judgment call on whether it is appropriate to use it.
• 프로 불참러: The word "불참" comes from two parts made up of Chinese letters. "불" is a negation prefix. "불공평" means "unfair" (you might be on the winning side or the losing side; but the two sides are not equal); "불리" means "not gainful," so something is unfair, and you have the short end of the stick. The letter "참" comes from "attendance." For example "참석" means to attend an event. So "불참" means to not attend. A "프로 불참러" is someone who misses all the events!

These words are definitely neologisms and are the most suitable for informal internet conversations, or among very close friends. However, definitely take into account that depending on the context, the person on the receiving end of this word might be offended. It really depends on what meaning you are trying to get across!