yán​kù

harsh

严酷 (嚴酷) yán​kù
harsh adjective
severe, cruel, or relentless in conditions, treatment, or discipline

The natural environment in the Arctic is extremely harsh.

cut-throat adjective
fierce and intense, especially when describing competition or markets

In harsh competition, only the strong survive.

grim adjective
sternly cold or forbidding, particularly regarding facts, reality, or a situation

Faced with the harsh reality, he did not choose to back down.

Frequency

Movie subtitles
1.91 per million appears in 1% of films
Written text
1.61 per million

Sources

Definitions
CC-CEDICT