# How to recognize a Lightning invoice?

A Lightning invoice is a payment request that starts with "ln" and includes a long string of characters. It may also include the amount to be paid and a description of the payment.

When receiving a Lightning invoice, you can recognize it by the "ln" prefix, followed by a string of alphanumeric characters. The Lightning invoice may be displayed as a QR code that you can scan with your Bitcoin wallet app.

It's important to note that a Lightning invoice is not the same as a Bitcoin on-chain address, which typically starts with "1" or "3" for legacy addresses, or "bc1" for newer SegWit addresses.


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