It's not just them. There is a kanji assigned to each character for abbreviation, though not often used.
From a Japanese site:
\|炎. |雷.|鯨. |髪.|影. |肉. |紙.|医. |梅.|紗. |霧. |鎖.|闇. |玉. |罠.|翼.|髭. |音.|霊. |鰤. |機. |聖.|鍵.|
雷|4.0|---|4.0|4.5|4.0|4.0|5.0|4.0|4.5|4.0|4.5|4.0|5.0|4.5|3.5|5.0|3.5|4.5|3.0|5.0|3.5|4.5|4.0|
合計:92.5
This is showing ky's matchup chart. To read it...
雷(kaminari/lightning) = Ky
炎(honoo/fire) = Sol
鯨(kujira/whale) = may
髪(kami/hair) = Millia
影(kage/shadow) = Eddie
肉(niku/meat) = Potemkin
紙(kami/paper lol) = Chipp
医(i/doctor) = Faust
梅(ume/plum) = Baiken
紗(sa or ja in this case/gauze, often silk) = Jam
霧(kiri/mist) = Johnny
鎖(kusari/chain) = Axl
闇(yami/darkness) = Anji
玉(tama/ball) = Venom
罠(wana/trap) = Testament
翼(tsubasa/wings) = Dizzy
髭(hige/beard) = Slayer
音(oto/sound) = I-no
霊(rei/spirit) = Zappa
鰤(buri/type of fish, also used for "cutesy girl") = Bridget
機(ki/machine) = Robo ky
聖(saint) = Order-Sol
鍵(key) = A.B.A
Also, for vocabulary
詐欺跳び(さぎとび・Sagitobi) = Safe Jump
直前ガード Or 直ガ(Chokuzen Gaado/Chokuga for short) = Instant block
パンピー (Short for 一般ピープル) = Literally, normal people, in games = Scrub or someone who doesn't REALLY play the game.