The Daju languages belong to the Eastern Sudanic subfamily of Nilo-Saharan.

The principal phonetic difference between the two branches is the reflex of proto-Daju *ɣ, reflected as Western *r and Eastern *x.

The typical verb root in Daju is a monosyllable of the form (C)VC(C).

The verb takes person suffixes, exemplified in Shatt (for the verb "drink" in the imperfective): Suffixes on nouns serve to mark singulative (-tic, -təs), generic, and plural forms.

The typical word order is subject–verb–object in most Daju languages, with exceptions such as Sila, and possessed–possessor.