ok so ive been listening to some HF traffic and people keep saying things like QSL and QTH and QRM and i have a rough idea what some of them mean but not really. like i know QSL is something to do with confirming contact but thats about it. is there like a standard list somewhere or do people just kind of pick up on them over time? also saw someone write 73 at the end of a message and had to look that one up lol. just feels like theres a whole other language going on and im only catching bits of it

yeah there's definitely a learning curve with all of that. the Q codes actually go way back to maritime and telegraph days, so some of them are pretty old. QTH is your location, QRM is interference from other stations (man-made), QRN is static or natural noise, QSB is signal fading, QRT means shutting down or going off air, QRZ is asking who's calling you. QSL is yeah, acknowledgement or confirmation, that's one of the big ones especially when people send QSL cards to confirm contacts. 73 just means best regards, it's been used forever. 88 is used sometimes too and that means love and kisses, usually between people who know each other well. honestly the best thing is just to download the ARRL Q code list as a PDF and keep it open while you're listening for a while, you start to recognize them pretty fast once you hear them in context a bunch of times

73 got me too when i first started. thought someone was signing off with a number for some reason. once you get on the air and start making contacts it kinda just sinks in naturally, you dont really need to memorize them all at once. QSY is another one youll hear a lot, means changing frequency. and QRP if youre into low power operating. people throw around a ton of abbreviations in CW too like OM (old man, which is just how you address another ham), YL for a female operator, stuff like that. dont stress too much about knowing every single one right away