Learn Spanish (Latin America): Como se me olvidó marcar, no dejé un mensaje en el buzón. - Since I forgot to dial, I didn't leave a message in the voicemail.

While como often means "like" or "as", when placed at the very beginning of a sentence like this, it translates to "since" or "because". It sets up the reason for the second part of the sentence.

Why use se me olvidó instead of just olvidé?

This uses the accidental or "no-fault" construction in Spanish. By saying se me olvidó (literally, "it forgot itself to me"), the speaker emphasizes that it was an accident, taking the direct blame off themselves. You could say olvidé marcar, but se me olvidó sounds much more natural for an honest mistake.

Why use dejé for "leave" instead of salí?

Spanish uses different verbs for "to leave" depending on the context. You use salir when you physically exit or depart from a place. You use dejar when you leave an item or a concept behind, which is why it is used here for leaving a message (dejé un mensaje).

Does buzón mean "voicemail" or just a physical "mailbox"?

While the full phrase for voicemail is buzón de voz, it is very common to shorten it to just buzón when the context of a phone call is already clear. It works for both physical mailboxes and digital voicemails.