so i just got my technician license about 3 weeks ago and ive been listening on a few repeaters and also some HF with my dad's radio and honestly half the time i have no idea what people are saying. like they'll say QSY or QRM or whatever and i kind of nod along but i dont actually know what it means. also saw someone write 73 at the end of a message and had to google it. is there like a standard list or do you just kind of pick it up over time? also what does QRZ mean because i hear that one a lot on HF and sometimes it sounds like the person is asking something but i cant tell what

oh man yeah the Q codes can be overwhelming at first, dont worry about it. so they actually go way back to maritime and telegraph days before voice radio was even a thing, operators needed short ways to say common things and the Q codes stuck around into ham radio. QRZ basically means "who is calling me" so when someone finishes a contact or comes on frequency they'll say their callsign QRZ to let anyone listening know they're ready for the next caller. QSY is change frequency, QRM is interference from other stations (human caused), QRN is interference from natural stuff like lightning static. QSB is when your signal is fading in and out which you'll definitely notice on HF. the 73 thing is just "best regards" basically, its a leftover from the old telegraph codes too and everyone still uses it to sign off. there are like 50 or 60 of them total but honestly you only ever really hear maybe 15 or 20 on the air regularly. just listen for a few more weeks and they'll start clicking into place, i promise.

yeah what he said, also dont forget 88 which means love and kisses lol, people use that one occasionally. and OM means old man which sounds rude but its just how hams refer to other hams, doesnt matter how old you actually are. YL is young lady for female operators. i was so confused my first few months i kept a little cheat sheet next to the radio which honestly there's no shame in that, i think i used it for like a solid year before i stopped needing it