They are sometimes considered to form part of the proposed Macro-Jê language family,[1][2]: 547  though this has been disputed.

[6][7] See Otuke for various additional varieties of the Chiquito Plains in Bolivia which may have been dialects of it, such as Kovare and Kurumina.

[12] Kaufman (1994) has suggested a relationship with the Chiquitano language,[13] which Nikulin (2020) considers to be a sister of Macro-Jê.

Jolkesky (2016) notes that there are lexical similarities with the Guato, Karib, Kayuvava, Nambikwara, and Tupi language families due to contact.

[16]: 420 Similarities with Cayuvava are due to the expansion of Bororoan speakers into the Chiquitania region.