Telling the time and the calendar

Telling the time is mostly a matter of numbers plus a counter: 時(じ) for the hour, 分(ふん) for the minutes, 月(がつ) for the month. The traps are the readings that do not follow the pattern — four o'clock is 四時(よじ), April is 四月(しがつ), and the first ten days of the month have native names such as 一日(ついたち) and 二日(ふつか). Words like 今日(きょう), 毎週(まいしゅう) and 来月(らいげつ) need no particle after them: "I go on Monday" usually takes に, "I go tomorrow" takes nothing.