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What is gatcha short for? Is it standard English, or is it used in the spoken language only?

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    Sorry, I'm not an English native, but shouldn't it be "gOtcha"?
    – Agustí Roig
    Commented Jul 24, 2013 at 8:25
  • 2
    Can you give the context where you saw or heard this? A quote is best.
    – Mitch
    Commented Jul 24, 2013 at 10:43
  • @AgustiRoig Almost certainly, unless it's referring to Gatchaman
    – Izkata
    Commented Jul 24, 2013 at 13:59

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I've got you!

I imagine it was derived like this:

I've got you! → Got you! → Got ya! → Gotcha! → Gatcha!

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[Gotcha] wiki

Gotcha and I gotcha are relaxed pronunciations of "I['ve] got you", usually referring to an unexpected capture or discovery. Gotcha is a common colloquialism meaning to understand or comprehend.

It is the reduced written form of got you = got +‎ -cha

Gotcha can also be spelled as gotchya whereas the related term, getcha, is made by joining the verb and pronoun, get you, with -cha.

There are no written instances of "gatcha".

My guess is that the OP has heard the Blondie song, "One Way or Another" recently covered by the British boy band, One Direction and mixed "gotcha" with "getcha". :)

One way, or another, I’m gonna find ya
I’m gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha
One way, or another, I’m gonna win ya
I’m gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha

One way or another, I’m gonna see ya
I’m gonna meetcha meetcha meetcha meetcha
One day, maybe next week
I’m gonna meetcha, I’m gonna meetcha, I’ll meetcha

I will, drive past your house
And if, the lights are all out
I’ll see who’s around
Let's Go!

Repeat

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