我同意Heli的说法，"现实" 本身并没有什么贬义或褒义。 如果有人说 "你太过于现实了"，那就比较清楚了，是吧。 That means you're too practical, too calculative.

Hi Sam, I'm Wen. I live in Taiwan so I'll tell you how we Taiwanese use it. When we say someone is realistic, we say they are 實際 [ shí jì ] . For example 我這個人比較實際一點 means I'm a more realistic person. When we say a person is money-grubbing; hardheaded; overly concerned with practical things we say 現實. It usually gives a negative meaning to a person. However the degree of 現實 can vary by the adverb you use to describe it. When the adverb is very gentle, like 比較、一點. It can just mean the fact that that person is 現實 like realistic, not too money-grubbing. If the adverb is 很、蠻、超級. It means that person is really money-grubbing; hardheaded; overly concerned with practical things. Hope this helps!

It's either neutral or negative depending on the scenario.

取决于讲话的人对被他称为“现实”的人的态度。

现实 can be a noun or an adj. When it is a noun, it just means fact, reality. Thus a realistic attitude asks individuals to face the fact or simply to be pragmatic. But when it becomes an adj to describe a person, it is always derogatory; it means a person acts in an extremely selfish way that you cannot trust. There is another term "务实", which is a positive term used to make no misunderstanding no matter you're describing an attitude or a person.