厉害lihai44

The closest literal translation would be “terribly” (terribly good, terribly bad).

厉li4

means strict。Image is of scorpions under a cliff: It’s the crushing of scorpions. hanziyuan.net if you disbelieve me.

害hai4

is the image of a suspect under a roof being interrogated so we can see his tongue.舌she  Tongue under a roof 宀mian = interrogate: its a symbol for the idea of harm, evil, calamity.
H.arm
A.ll
I.nterrogate
HARM EVIL CALAMITY

LIHAI 厉害 crush scorpions torture suspects TERRIBLY memorable — and powerful!

Tsar Ivan the Terrible exemplifies LIHAI.