Purum is a Kuki-Chin language, belonging to the Northwestern or "Old Kuki" subfamily. Speakers consider themselves to be ethnic Naga people, rather than part of the Kuki and Chin ethnic groups. Peterson (2017) classifies Purum as part of the Northwestern branch of Kuki-Chin. According Ethnologue, Purum shares a high degree of mutual intelligibility with Kharam. The speakers of this language use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue.

Purum is spoken in Phaijol, Laikot, Thuisenpai, and Kharam Pallen villages of Senapati district, Manipur (Ethnologue).