ok so ive been licensed for about 3 months now and im on HF a little bit but honestly half the time i have no idea what people are saying. like i know CQ obviously and 73 but then someone will say something like QRM or QSB or throw out a bunch of letters and i just kind of sit there confused. is there like a master list somewhere or do you just pick it up over time? also whats the deal with some people saying things like OM or YL and stuff like that, is that rude or just normal? i dont want to say something wrong on air and embarrass myself

haha yeah it can feel like a whole different language at first, totally normal. the Q codes originally came from maritime and telegraph use, so some of them are a bit weird when you think about them in context of voice operation. QRM means interference from other stations, QSB is signal fading, QTH is your location, QSL means confirmed or acknowledged. theres definitely a list on the ARRL website and honestly just googling "ham radio Q codes list" will get you a pretty solid reference page.

OM just means old man and its not rude at all, its like saying buddy or friend, been used forever. YL means young lady and its used for any female operator regardless of age which some people have opinions about these days but its generally not meant as anything bad. you'll also hear ES which just means "and", HI HI which is like laughing, and 88 means love and kisses which you mostly hear between operators who know each other. honestly after a few months of listening you just absorb most of it without even trying

the one that tripped me up for the longest time was QRP vs QRO. QRP means low power operation, like 5 watts or less, and QRO is running higher power. people say things like "im running QRP today" and i had no clue what they meant for weeks. also PSE means please and TU or tnx is thank you, you see those a lot on digital modes too. just keep a notepad near the radio and write down anything you dont recognize then look it up after, thats what i did