ok so ive been listening on HF for a few weeks now and everyone is throwing around QSL, QRM, QRN, QRZ and like a dozen others and i honestly cant keep up. i know QSL has something to do with confirming contact but beyond that im lost. is there like a standard set i should memorize or do most operators just pick up on them over time? also saw someone use 73 at the end of a transmission and im guessing thats not literally the number 73

sorry if this is a basic question, just trying to figure out how people actually talk on the air before i get my license sorted out

yeah 73 means best regards or best wishes, its been used since like the telegraph days. dont worry about memorizing all the Q codes at once, honestly most of the common ones you'll just absorb after listening for a while. the ones you really need to know starting out are QSL (i confirm, or yes), QRM (man-made interference, someone elses signal messing with you), QRN (static and natural noise), QSB (fading, like your signal is going up and down), QRZ (who is calling me), QTH (your location), and QRP which you'll see a lot on forums meaning low power operation. there's a few dozen more but those cover probably 90% of what you'll hear in casual QSOs. also 73 is technically not a Q code at all, its just one of a bunch of old numeric codes, 88 means love and kisses and people still use that one too mostly when signing off with someone they know

i was in the exact same spot like 8 months ago lol. what helped me was just keeping a notepad next to the radio and writing down codes as i heard them and then looking them up after. way easier than trying to memorize a list. QRV is one i didnt see mentioned yet, means are you ready or i am ready. and QRT means im shutting down, stopping transmission. you'll hear that at the end of nets sometimes. the ARRL website has a full list if you want it but honestly dont stress it, after a few months of listening it just clicks