Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Brazil): Minha tia deixou um recado dizendo que vai chegar depois da reunião. - My aunt left a message saying that she is going to arrive after the meeting.

Portuguese often allows a definite article before possessives, but it is not always required. In this sentence, leaving the article out sounds completely normal.

What tense is deixou?

Deixou is the preterite form of deixar.

That means it describes a completed action in the past. Here, the aunt already left the message. In dictionary form, the verb is deixar.

eu deixei
você/ele/ela deixou
nós deixamos

So Minha tia deixou... means the action of leaving the message is finished.

What exactly does deixar mean here?

Here, deixar means something like to leave in the sense of to leave behind, to leave a note/message, or to pass along.

In other contexts, deixar can also mean:

to let / allow
to stop / quit
to leave something somewhere

So the exact meaning depends on context. In this sentence, it means she left a message.

What does mean? Is it the same as ?