¿Qué significa de pana?

Question

De un periódico venezolano:

En su columna de hoy, Vladimir Villegas asegura que la aprobación del bono de alimentación equivalente a Bs. 10.000, hecho por los mismos miembros de Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (TSJ) sería aplaudido por él mismo si fuera en recompensa por la disminución de “corruptelas que carcomen la administración de justicia, pero, de pana, les falta mucho para ganárselo”.

In his column today, Vladimir Villegas assures that he himself would applaud the approval of the food bonus equivalent to Bs. 10,000 that the members of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice awarded to themselves if it were in recompense for the reduction of "corruption that eats away at the administration of justice, but, de pana, they have a long way to go to earn that."

In Caracas we constantly used pana to mean something like buddy, or dude. Does de pana mean something like, "but boy"?

Answer 1

I have 2 Venezuelan friends and they say "de pana" all the time with the same meaning as "de verdad"

Ex) "Que ladilla esta tarea"

"De pana, me arrecho sólo con mirarla"

Pana, ladilla, vaina, and arrechar are probably the Spanish words I'm most familiar with thanks to them

All good words. I could add a few more if this weren't a family-friendly forum. De pana was a new one for me, though. Your explanation makes sense. - KevinB, Jul 12, 2011

Answer 2

I find this to be a weird slang. jaja

Here are the definitions that I have for the word "pana":
1. Tela gruesa semejante al terciopelo, que puede ser lisa o con hendiduras generalmente verticales. (Coarse fabric, similar to velvet, that may be smooth or with vertical indents.)
2. Cada una de las tablas levadizas que forman el suelo de una embarcación menor. (Each of any planks that can be raised that form the floor of a smaller vessel.)

Puerto Ricans would use this word for "fruitcake" or "fruitbread".

Ecuadorians, Puerto Ricans, Domincans and Venezuelans may use this word for "friend", "comrade", or "buddy". (amigo, camarada, o compinche.)

In a formal sense, this would be considered poor grammar. Fortunately, we don't live in a society where formal grammar is demanded all the time and there is room for slang. I would go with what others have said on the subject.

This is all according to Real Academia Española. They're usually my go to as they establish all the rules of Spanish linguistics.

EDIT:
This could also mean "but, (I'm saying this) as a friend, they have a long way to go to earn that."

Answer 3

I am venezuelan

In this example means

pero, de pana, les falta mucho para ganárselo”.

pero, de verdad de amigo, les falta mucho para ganárselo”.

other examples:

Hey mi pana!

Hey my friend!

No vayas ese sitio es muy aburrido de pana te lo digo.

Do not go this place is boring as a friend I tell you.

¡Epa, pana! Te creo. - KevinB, Jul 12, 2011

Gracias, eres muy gracioso. :) - tomasxenix, Jul 12, 2011

Answer 4

One site I checked defines "pana" as the following:

breakdown; Synonyms: anomalía, avería, fracaso, descomposición, falla, fallo, irregularidad; Anormalidad, irregularidad, discrepancia de una regla. ; Malformación, alteración biológica, congénita o adquirida.

I call your attention to the part that reads

discrepancia de una regla

So, despite their best efforts at jurisprudence, this appears like an outright anomaly or slap in the face to those who keep informed of these proceedings....

Answer 5

I am a spanish native talker, and I had some difficulties translating this, mostly because this is a venezuela's colloquial word

Is like saying that you're going to talk with the truth, in a familiar way (your're not going to lie to your family , don't you?)

pana is similar that friend, but more than that, like brothers , but is usually used between friends

“corruptelas que carcomen la administración de justicia, pero, de pana, les falta mucho para ganárselo”.

"corruption that eats away at the administration of justice, but, talking between us, they have a long way to go to earn that."