‘须发’ (xū fà) is a compound noun meaning ‘beard and hair’ — specifically referring to the facial hair (须) and scalp hair (发) together. Though literally about two physical features, it is rarely used in purely descriptive or cosmetic contexts. Instead, it carries strong connotations of aging, maturity, or even wisdom and venerability, especially in literary, historical, or formal speech. The characters combine naturally: 须 denotes coarse facial hair (often associated with adult males), while 发 means ‘hair’ broadly but here functions as the second element in a fixed binomial compound.

This term appears frequently in classical idioms (e.g., 须发皆白 — ‘beard and hair all white’, meaning ‘extremely aged’), biographies, and respectful descriptions of elders. It’s seldom used in casual daily talk — native speakers typically say 胡子和头发 (húzi hé tóufa) when speaking plainly. Because it evokes dignity and the passage of time, 须发 often appears in contexts emphasizing life experience, decline, or reverence for seniority.