What does "pana" mean in Venezuelan Spanish?

What does "pana" mean?

Friend, buddy — also as an adjective meaning cool and loyal.

Country: 🇻🇪 Venezuela
Say it: PAH-nah
Register: Friends & informal

How it's actually used

Works as a noun ("es mi pana") and as a description of character ("esa chama es muy pana" = she is really solid). Shared across Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Panama, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic.

Examples

Él es mi pana desde el liceo. He's been my buddy since high school.
Qué pana eres, gracias. You're a real one, thanks.

Where it comes from

Probably from English "partner," reshaped in the Caribbean.

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Now actually use it out loud

Reading a definition isn't the same as saying it to someone. Lingo Kaiava is a voice tutor set to Venezuelan Spanish — it uses pana the way locals do, corrects you in the moment, and never "fixes" the way real people actually talk into textbook Venezuelan Spanish.