"The article deals with the nominative and symbolic function of the colorative black in Vladimir Nabokov’s novel «Камера обскура» and its English version «Laughter in the Dark». By applying comparative method and method of semantic analysis the study aims to prove that the frequent use of colorative black by the bilingual writer in Russian and English texts of the novel is logical and natural, it contributes to the main idea of the novel. Black functions as a certain counterpoint and a dominant of a frame’s gist, which connects all the characters of the novel. Lexical and semantic fields of colorative black includes a great variety of lexical and phraseological variants. The study have shown that by means of colorative black and its equivalents Vladimir Nabokov succeeded to portray all the emotions and feelling of the main character."