"זה עצוב."
Translation:This is sad.
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For those interested in Semetic roots: So עָצָב means a "NERVE" in Heb, in cousin language Arabic it's exactly the same word عصب and same pronunciation. But the Hebrew adj עָצוּב "sad" is 'haziin' or 'za'laan' in Arabic. However the root עצב = عصب pops up again in the verb: bit'aSab 'alay (بتعصب علي) in Arabic is to get upset/angry with s/o or to be intolerant of them.
Pay attention to the exact letters and the sounds represented by them:
'זה' = ZEH / ZE (no 'R' sound is present')
'עצוב' = ATZUV / ATZOOV (a single word; 'ע' is corresponds here to the 'A' sound, 'צ' to the 'TZ' sound, 'ו' to the 'U' / 'OO' sound, 'ב' to 'V')
In normal speech, the vowel sound at the end of a word may often be connected to the word that follows. This may explain to some extent why it seems tricky.